Code Lyoko (S 5): Case Of Delenda
by SecretCodeLyokan
Summary: [Might rewrite older chapters in the future] Layla enrolls at Kadic and befriends the ex-Lyoko Warriors; but when her PC and her dreams seem linked to Lyoko, the fight with X.A.N.A. begins again, with Layla by their side and many questions unanswered: who's Delenda? What happened to Anthea? And why is Layla vulnerable on Lyoko? Canon Pairings (and OxOC with minor WxOC)
1. Ep 1 part 1: XANA Returns

**Code** **Lyoko** **: Case of** **Delenda**

* * *

 ***theme***

 **Episode 1: "Return of X.A.N.A."**

Three weeks have passed since X.A.N.A.'s defeat and the gang's lives were less complicated than before…but still many knots needed to be fixed.

Yumi smiled at her drawing: she had finished her twelfth-no, twentieth-sketch in three weeks and it pictured a Krabe, one of her fans cut over his symbol.

It was first period of the first day of a new semester and the Principal was happy to introduce a new girl; he invited her in. The moment he did so, a thousands of mouths flapped open as the shy girl entered the math class.

"Uhm…hi" she smiled, clutching her bag. Yumi interrupted for her brief moment her new sketch (Lyoko from the Holomap) to look at the new girl: she had unusual long orange hair, the color of a, well, orange, which looked a bit messy, as if she'd never used a hairbrush before. She wore a black jacket slightly opened to reveal a dark blue shirt inside, with a white symbol on it; her skirt was a little frilly and blue, her leggings were dark purple like her small boots and her bag was black, with a red symbol hidden by her hands. A silver belt completed her look: it was shiny and made of ten ovals bearing strange markings…

"Hi!" the newbie repeated, smiling. "I'm…I'm Layla Carthago, and…I'm fifteen, and…uh…" she blushed "Well, I like math".

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Carthago" Ms. Meyer smiled at her. "I'm Ms. Meyer, your math teacher, and I hope you had good grades in your old school…"

Layla smiled: "Especially in science and mathematics" she confirmed.

"Very good. Now, please go and sit in the empty desk and we'll start the lesson" Layla sat near a girl who was too busy sketching to notice the fifteen pair of eyeballs staring at her new desk-mate.

"Now, since Layla's records say that she's an explanation behind us all, today's math quiz is delayed". A roar erupted in the classroom, while Layla opened her bag to get her notebook.

"Nice drawing" she said to Yumi, her desk-mate. Yumi smirked in response, looking at the X.A.N.A. eye she'd drawn just now.

"You have any friends here?" Layla pointed at a photo coming out of her notebook, a picture of the Lyoko Gang minus William.

Yumi nodded: "They're all a grade below us: that's Odd Della Robbia, Aelita Stones, Jeremy Belpois and Ulrich Stern" she pointed at her friends as she said their names.

"Is this Ulrich German?" Layla asked.

"Yep"

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Yumi's cheeks turned red as she quickly opened her notebook. Layla smirked at her: "Is he?"

"It's…no".

"Sure?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Dunno. You look pretty close in the photo" she smiled, as if to apologize. Yumi smiled back and held out her hand under the desk as Ms. Meyer started speaking.

"Yumi Ishiyama"

"Layla Carthago" and they secretly shook hands, smiling.

* * *

The bell rang announcing lunch. Yumi walked towards the cafeteria, her new friend tugging along.

"Where did you get the bag?" she asked the shy girl: she had seen a few hours ago that the strange symbol on it was none other than X.A.N.A.'s.

Layla scratched her head, thoughtfully: "Can't remember; why?"

Yumi opened her mouth to say something, but then shook her head. "I'll tell you later" she said.

"Hey, Yumi! Right here!" Odd waved to sign his older friend their position, but stopped when he saw the shy girl tugging along.

Yumi smiled when he saw his mouth open and close like a fish out of water and his eyes staring at her new friend.

"Guys, meet Layla Carthago; Layla, meet Odd, Ulrich, Aelita and Jeremy" Layla was about to sit near Aelita, but Odd pushed her near his empty seat in a heartbeat, much to the new Kadic student's surprise.

Aelita helped her out of her 'embarrassment': "So, Layla, where do you live?" she asked.

Layla took a spoonful of rice before answering: "Well, my parents grew in France, but I lived in America; I didn't like the schools, though, so Mum signed me up for Kadic".

"You've got any friends in America?" asked Jeremy, pushing the glasses up his nose.

"Not that I remember" she answered, sadly. Odd put an arm around her.

"Don't worry" he said "You were lucky to meet Yumi, because she introduced you to the best pack of friends you could ever had, me as a bonus".

Everyone laughed as Odd started to tell her things they had done and, by the time lunch break ended, the six were bonding

At dinner time, same thing: stories and bonding. But Layla had doubts.

"When and how did you meet?" she asked him. Odd thought about it.

"Three years ago, at least: our two lovebirds that go by the name of Ulrich and Yumi met during a sparring practice; it's a story they'd rather not talk about" Ulrich blushed slightly, remembering that day.

"Jeremy met Ulrich during an accident he had and they became friends shortly after; during that time, I was Ulrich's new roommate and one day, when I caught both of them sneaking around, that's when our friendship started and Yumi was officially invited a day later. I don't remember how, though.; probably Ulrich's pleading" Everyone laughed while Ulrich blushed even more, this time of anger.

"Aelita? What about her?" Layla asked. Odd explained: "I kept in contact with my cousin and introduced her to all of my friends; she joined Kadic a year later, sort of"

Layla smiled, but her mind was still elsewhere. She looked at her watch.

"I'd like to stay and chat, guys, but I need to go and unpack" she waved at her new friends and walked upstairs to the dorm.

She opened the door and sighed: She had been assigned a two-person room, but she didn't have any roommate; she looked at her suitcase: she had two, one blue and the other one purple, both with the X.A.N.A. symbol, even if she didn't know why.

She opened the suitcase: the blue one contained some clothes and a set of sheets and pillow covers; the purple one contained two dolls, a teddy bear, a notebook with "Diary" written on it, a PC with its bag, mouse and plug, a silver-colored telephone with binary codes as the screen wallpaper and phone cover, the telephone plug and a camera.

She put everything on place: the sheets, the pillow cover and the toys on her bed, the clothes in the wardrobe, the phone and the PC on the table. She then slipped into her pajamas, a pair of green moss-colored shorts and a slightly darker-colored t-shirt.

As she laid in bed thinking, she wondered what her friends were hiding from her: of all the adventures they had together, she knew they were too few to last over three years; there _had_ to be something else to know…

She looked at the PC: it was brand new, she still had to personalize it; why not do it now?

Layla walked towards the computer and turned it on. That's when the visions came:

 _A weird-looking crab walking towards a pink-haired elf, before a fan hit it…A purple weird cat jumping on a weird skateboard…Yumi stalked by an army of crows…the symbol on her shirt, bag and suitcases in the eyes of the principal…_

She held her hand in her head, trying hard to control these visions… _a pack of wolves…a code…a white, cylindrical figure…mist creeping towards Kiwi, Odd's dog…_

"Get away from me!" she screamed. Just then, the computer blinked and a user appeared; it said "Delenda". Layla opened it, curiously…

The desktop was filled with little folders. She read the titles: "Jeremy Belpois", "Odd Della Robbia", "Projects", "Camera", "Ulrich Stern", "Yumi Ishiyama", "Aelita Schaeffer"… what did they mean?

Curious, she opened one named "Lyoko's future". She screamed when she saw what the folder held.

Aelita ran to her room, followed by the three guys, and one look on the desktop image said it all. They picked her up from the seat and laid her down on the bed; she stared at them, her eyes terrified: "My dreams…" she murmured.

"What?" Ulrich was staring at the PC as if it was a grenade about to explode

"Those images appeared in my dreams" she explained, pointing at the images of Lyoko.

"Say WHAT!" Jeremy and Aelita's eyes were rounder than hers. Layla stood up from her bed, took a pencil and drew a few figures on a piece of paper:

"The elf girl, the crabs, the cube things, the white cylindrical thingy…I saw them in my dreams!" she looked at their faces, her eyes still wide with terror "And you know something about it, right?" they all nodded and looked at each other for a minute, before Odd took her hand to help her stand up.

* * *

"…And this is all" the five friends concluded to a surprised Layla. They were at the factory, in the lab, where she was told everything about X.A.N.A. and Lyoko. She smiled as she passed her hand through the Holomap.

"What an adventure" she murmured and everyone smiled: they have always missed the tension, the suspense and the action that X.A.N.A. had brought in their lives, but now that it was all over, they could forget all of it and live more relaxed lives...still, it didn't feel right. It was like a part of them was shut down, like the Supercomputer.

"I wonder who's Delenda?" Layla asked, suddenly. They all looked at her.

"'Delenda'?" Jeremy asked.

"The user of the PC, it said 'Delenda'" she explained. "X.A.N.A. must've known something or someone named after it".

"But X.A.N.A. is dead" Aelita complained, trying to convince more herself than Layla "I saw it, my father died killing him; unless there was some way X.A.N.A. could recover his strength, he's dead". Layla signed: somehow, she wasn't entirely sure.

"Then what about the user, the images...is someone threatening you and me or something?"

Then, they heard a _click_ behind them. They turned around, staring at the elevator which was slowly opening…

 **Cliffhanger…Stay tuned for the next episode: "Return of X.A.N.A. part 2: Make Evil Go Away"!  
**


	2. Ep1 part 2: Make Evil Go Away

**Disclaimer: When Odd will eat slowly for the first time in his life, then I'll own Code Lyoko (this series would be on TV, if owned Code Lyoko, anyway).**

 **Code** **Lyoko** **: Case Of** **Delenda**

 ***** **theme** *****

 **Episode 1 part 2: Ma** **ke Evil Go Away**

* * *

 _ **Previously on Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**_

 _ **The gang made friends with Layla Carthago, a girl which goes around bearing X.A.N.A. symbols on her shirt and bag. If this isn't weird, then get this: her PC has a user named "Delenda", and this user has pictures and documents related to our heroes and Lyok**_ _ **o! And Layla also had dreams about the Virtual World in the past.**_

 _ **Our Lyoko Warriors are now in the factory and they have spilled the beans. Layla senses X.A.N.A. is the one who gave her the laptop and maybe he's still alive, but Aelita confirms he's dead…but, just as she says that, the elevator door starts opening…**_

* * *

Everyone looked at the elevator door, the tension killing them with every second that passed. Finally, it opened, revealing…

Nothing. Nothing at all. Just the plain elevator everyone (well, apart from Layla) knew.

Layla looked at her friends, each of them holding a hand over their beating hearts: because of all the X.A.N.A. influence, things like that probably continued to freak them out.

After a few minutes of controlling their pulse, Yumi decided to head home; guess who followed her first in the elevator, offering to escort her...

Odd was about to follow this person, when the elevator clicked and closed. The four teens left in the Lab heard a whirring sound (the elevator going up), followed by a _strip!_ and a crash three seconds later.

"What was that?" screamed Layla, squeezing Odd's hand (much to his delight). "Don't tell me that it was…"

Odd let go of her hand and went to open the closed door, helped by the scared girl. When they managed to do so, they looked down and saw what they feared: the broken remains of the elevator.

Aelita started to cry, mourning the loss of their friends, but Odd told her he could see faint movements in the bottom, which meant that the two "lovebirds" were still alive. **(A/N: Odd's still against Yumi and Ulrich's "just friends and that's it" thing; FYI, this nickname will be used, from now on, only on special occasions)**

"But, how come the elevator behaved like this?" he wondered. Jeremy shrugged in response, Aelita mumbled something about "Worn-out wires", Layla slowly made her way towards the Computer and the Holomap and gasped.

"Uh, Jeremy…"

"Yes?"

"Could…could you come here for a moment?"

Jeremy walked towards the Supercomputer monitor and went pale when he saw the screen.

He looked at Aelita and Odd, brushed the sweat off his forehead and announced The Dreaded Thing:

"The supercomputer's on. Also, according to the 'eye' I saw on the camera screens…" he lowered his head "X.A.N.A. survived. And he has returned"

* * *

"Wake up! This is not funny" Yumi yelled at the boy, smacking his face for the seventh time. Nothing. How an Earth can she…

A smile crossed her face as she remembered a tactic Aelita had suggested using a few weeks ago in these occasions.

She bent down and whispered in his ear: "Ulrich, William just proposed to me"

She laughed when he sat up in less than a second. "You can't be serious!" he said, his face lighting up with anger.

She laughed harder: "You seriously think I'd accept a proposal at my age, especially from HIM?" Ulrich blushed like a ripe tomato.

"Where are we?" he asked her, to change the subject.

She stopped laughing and wiped her tears: "We're in the elevator; it broke down or something…how are you?"

Ulrich moved his arms, to check if, apart from a few scratches, he wasn't hurt badly. That test passed with flying colours, but when he tried to stand up, his screamed in pain and clutched his left leg.

"I was worried about that" Yumi bent down to examine it. "I had to pull you out of an area where the elevator fell apart on you; luckily, it didn't hit you on the head, but a piece of concrete wounded your leg" she took a handkerchief from her pocket and cleaned the fresh wound.

"By the way, thanks for pushing me away".

Ulrich sat down. "What are friends for?" he said, smiling and picking up his phone, but, alas, the thing was broken in pieces.

Yumi handed him her phone, which looked ok, and he dialled a number.

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Jeremy was walking around in circles, trying hard to find a solution. "Yumi and Ulrich are in the elevator, probably wounded, X.A.N.A. will try and kill them while he can and probably we'll be the next! What do we do? What do we do?"

Aelita hugged him: "Don't worry Jeremy, everything's going to be ok" she told him.

Layla looked at the Computer, the Superscan still lighting up on the screen.

"I don't understand all this walking-around-in-circles thing" she told them. "'What are we going to do'? Seriously? I'll tell you what we're going to do: we're going to Lyoko, we're shutting down the Tower, we Return to the Past and then we're safe".

Jeremy looked at her, sternly: "Lyoko isn't a videogame, Layla; plus, if anyone dies here, it's bye-bye forever, you know".

Layla crossed her arms: "I can't believe you three; between at least trying to save your best friends and not saving your best friends, you pick the second option…"

"NO ONE CAN SURVIVE AN ELEVATOR CRASH!" yelled Jeremy, Aelita hugging him tightly, as if to avoid he slipped away.

Just then, her phone rang. She picked it up: "Yes…Ulrich! We were so worried…Where's Yumi?...Yes…Yeah, he's back…Uh huh…Ok…We'll try…Bye" she closed the call and informed them all about their friends' health.

"Ulrich and Yumi told us not to worry and try to deactivate the tower before X.A.N.A. does anything else" she added.

"But how do we go to the scanner room? Flying?" Odd asked.

Aelita pointed to the emergency stairs in one corner of the room: "You forgot about those?".

Odd nodded, blushing. He followed the pinkette down the small 'ladder'.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" Jeremy sat on the chair of the Supercomputer and watched Layla climbing down the ladder.

"If you think I'm staying out of this, you're wrong, Einstein" she said, winking her eye.

Jeremy shrugged. _Maybe she'll be smarter than William_ he thought. _And, anyway, a pair of extra hands won't hurt._

"Get ready to head to the Ice Sector!" Jeremy said over the speakers.

"Just like old times" Odd smiled, getting inside.

"I'm starting the transfer"

Layla climbed into the scanner without hesitation.

"Transfer Aelita; Transfer Odd; Transfer Layla"

Odd smiled at Layla and mouthed _See you at Lyoko_ before the doors closed.

"Scanner Aelita; Scanner Odd; Scanner Layla"

Layla watched as the scanner lit up and a weird and tickling sensation spread all over her body. Then, as Jeremy said "Virtualization!", a blast of wind blew her hair upwards and everything went blank.

* * *

Yumi helped Ulrich on his feet and dragged him to another area of the elevator. "I hope the others will hurry" she said.

Ulrich smiled. "You think Layla was virtualized?"

Yumi thought about it. "She's very adventurous; at least, that's what I've heard"

"So, yes"

"Hopefully, she'll be more careful than William".

Suddenly, a cloud of black mist appeared and darted towards them. Yumi took a piece of metal that was lying on the grond and and tried to fend off the Specter; the thing won't budge.

"Dang it!" she mumbled. "X.A.N.A. really has a nerve to pick on us!"

That's when the Specter hit the wall; she heard a faint crack…

* * *

The last thing Layla expected was to fall from the sky. Luckily, she was able to break the fall in time; Odd, the purple cat that had appeared in her dreams, stared at her.

"You're, um, cute" he said, and if avatars could blush, he'd be flaming red.

Layla looked at herself: she was wearing a short, dark blue, short-sleeved dress that ended an inch from her knee, with blue tights and boots. She had Lyoko Ice-coloured gloves that ended halfway through her forearm and her silver belt was still on her waist; on the side, there was a rolled-up whip. Her hair was tied in a plait hanging on the right side of her face.

Aelita smiled at her. "What Odd meant to say is that he really loves your outfit".

Layla took her whip out. It unrolled before her eyes. "Do I have any powers, Jeremy?"

Jeremy looked at the girl's card: "I can't understand what's written on it" he answered. "Sorry"

"Never mind, Jeremy…" a laser passed between her and Odd. Aelita pointed in front of her "Bloks, twelve o'clock" she fired an Energy Field.

Layla aimed her whip and slashed it at one of the four Blok. The end part hit him in the X.A.N.A. symbol, causing it to explode. As she was aiming it again, she saw a small symbol on the end of its long handle; curious, she hid behind an iceberg (to avoid getting hit) and attached the end of her weapon to the symbol. The wipped turned into a bow, with an arrow in her hand.

"Can I have three?" she asked the bow. Her wish was granted.

"BANZAIIII!" she yelled, shooting her three arrows towards the Bloks.

* * *

Yumi looked at the ground. After a few rocks had started to fall, caused by him hitting the wall, the Specter had vanished. She looked at Ulrich: "We'll make it out of here, right?". He squeezed her hand. "I have faith in our friends as much as you do" he said back, as soon as another couple of stones from the roof fell.

* * *

"Hurry up, you three" Jeremy was panicking. "Layla, what are you doing?".

After dismantling her bow, Layla had hit a Krabe on its shell, and it started glowing red.

"Jeremy" Aelita gasped. "I think Layla can control the monsters".

"I just hit him on the shell" Layla was astonished. Still, she wouldn't miss the chance she had.

 _Get them!_ She mentally transmitted to him. The Krabe obeyed and walked towards his two companions.

"How did I do it?" she asked herself, looking at the whip.

Jeremy thought for a while "Maybe you said or thought something before you-look out!"

EIGHT Krabes surrounded the tower. Layla called for hers, but it had been devirtualized along with the other two. She was hit by a laser and fell on the ground, holding her arm.

Odd picked her up and hid her behind an iceberg. "Are you alright?" he asked her. She nodded.

Then, she looked at the Krabes "I wonder if…" she laid on her knees and closed her eyes. "I sense a connection between me and the Supercomputer" she murmured. For a few seconds, she glowed red. During then, the Krabes disappeared.

Odd looked at her wide-eyed. "How did you…" Layla fainted before he could finish his sentence.

"Go, Aelita! Go! Here we've got a problem" Jeremy typed. "No; three"

"What do you mean?" Odd asked, as Aelita ran to the tower.

"One, the roof's starting to fall here; two, Yumi and Ulrich are in BIG trouble; three…Layla is vulnerable on Lyoko"

"WHAT!" Odd looked at her. "How? She's human"

"I don't know; I'll run a scan on her later" he promised.

* * *

Yumi hugged Ulrich. "Is this the end?" she cried.

"You seriously think they'd abandon us?"

"No, but…"

"I'm sure Aelita's in the tower now"

* * *

Aelita walked in. She went towards the centre of the tower, concentrated and levitated on the top one.

* * *

A big piece of concrete started to fall…

"Help!" Yumi screamed. Ulrich held her tightly and closed his eyes...

* * *

Aelita's foot reached the top platform. A screen appeared in front of her. She put her hand on it:

AELITA

* * *

Jeremy walked away from his seat, but was blocked by another rock

"AELITA!" he yelled. He covered his head with his arms...

* * *

Aelita heard the scream and quicklytyped the code:

CODE LYOKO

Binary codes dragged themselves downwards as Aelita took a deep breath before announcing: "Tower Deactivated".

* * *

Ulrch and Yumi sighed, relieved the rock had stopped falling on them. Their relief didn't last long, though: the two looked at each other and founded themselves hold tightly against one another...and closer than they ever were since...

They pulled away, blushing deep red, while Jeremy typed the Return To The Past.

* * *

Lunch had just started and they were all at the lunch table. Jeremy had explained to them Layla's powers on Lyoko.

"If you don't mind, I'll run a quick scan on you after school" he told her. She nodded.

"I have a question" she said, after he had done talking. She pointed at Yumi and Ulrich, who were sitting across her, each of them avoiding the other's gaze.

"Are you alright?" she asked them, a smirk forming on her face.

"What do you mean?" Ulrich blushed, when all the attention was reversed to him and the girl on his left.

"Simply that your faces have the same expression when I mention the Swimming Pool Attack" smirked Odd. "Did something happen on the elevator to add to our 'I'd rather not talk about it' list?"

Ulrich and Yumi both yelled: "Nothing that you need to know" while turning red as tomatoes.

At the end of lunch, Layla walked towards Yumi and whispered: "NOW you're both running in circles" and walked further away.

 _They might be annoyed I behave like Odd in this matter_ she thought _But it can't be helped; guess I'll have to add Matchmaker to my "Kadic Resolutions"._

 **END EP. 1**

* * *

 **Did you like it? Did you hate it? Tell me!**

 **PS: I'm having troubles with X.A.N.A. attack ideas. If you have an idea or two, review and I'll see what I can do.**

' **Till the next episode: "Nickname Day"**


	3. Ep 2: Nickname Day

**Hi there, I'm back again!**

 **It's weird, typing AND singing at the same time…oh, well. So, I remind everyone that, if someone wants to suggest a good X.A.N.A. attack, tell me in the reviews and I'll see what I can do. So, let's get this episode over with!**

* * *

 _ **Review Answers:**_

 _ **Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: Took me time to think about whether or not I wanted Wi**_ _ **lliam back, but I eventually came up with the answer: read and find out!**_

* * *

 **Disclaimer: If I owned Code Lyoko, this would be a new series and it would've been on air five years ago AT MINIMUM.**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 2: Nickname Day**

 **(A/N: Yeah, I know, this name sucks a bit...)**

* * *

"Watch out, Layla!" Odd fired a Laser Arrow on a Kankrelat about to shoot the new Lyoko Warrior.

"Thanks Odd" she said, smiling.

"Get to the tower, Aelita!" Jeremy's voice rang in their ears.

Aelita, who was fighting a Megatank, scoffed. "Well, if I could have some help here, it would make things a lot easier!" she said aloud, so that her friends could hear her.

"Got your point, Aelita" Layla shouted back at her, as she aimed an arrow at a Blok and fired, but missed. "Yumi, you take my place; Odd, you go and help Ulrich: fighting Hornets with two katana isn't easy; I'll go and help Aelita".

The fighting Warriors obeyed her and moved to their positions. Layla turned her bow back into a whip, and snapped the end on the Megatank's weak spot the second it opened; needless to say, the thing exploded instantly.

"Here you go, Princess!" she told the pinkette, bowing. Aelita smirked and went inside the tower.

The three other Warriors went towards Layla once they had finished with their own monsters.

"You know" Ulrich told her. "I still don't get the reason your clothes change color"

Layla looked at herself and shrugged in response: in the past three missions, she had discovered that the colors of her clothes changed in every sector: orange and yellow in the Desert Sector, blue and Lyoko-Ice-light blue in the Ice Sector and brown and green in the Forest Sector, where they were now. Sector 5 and the Mountain Sector were still unexplored by the girl, so they didn't know what color her clothes were in these Sectors.

"Ok, guys, I'll materialize you back to Earth: it's time for lunch" called Jeremy over his speaker, as he typed the right keys.

* * *

"Say what!" yelled the four 9th graders.

It was lunchtime and the six were in the cafeteria. Yumi and Layla had just arrived, bringing 'unpleasant' news (according to Yumi) to the rest of the gang.

Layla nodded. "Yep, the last Return To The Past made him suspicious and he confronted us before we came here; don't tell me you didn't see it coming: after all, you did say he was scanned by the Supercomputer". She sat down and looked at her worried friends with her calm green eyes.

Yumi, on the other hand, was visibly frustrated by this new 'problem': her hands were holding the tray so tight, her knuckles were white. She sat down, slamming the thing on the table and started poking at her food.

"He's really mad we didn't tell him X.A.N.A. survived" she told them. "He basically exploded when he realized we had 'replaced' him with a 'Little Miss Perfect Newbie'". Layla's eyes burned emerald flames when these words escaped her friend's mouth.

"Don't quote his words!" she spat. "If I could kill him, I would've done it in a heartbeat!".

She gobbled her meatballs. "Plus" she added between mouthfuls. " _I'm_ not the one who was stupid enough to try and beat the Schyphozoa"

Odd sighed. "That's William: always getting on the Lyoko Warriors' nerves" he stuffed four VERY large meatballs in his mouth (God only knows how he managed to do that) and sighed again, while chewing them.

"Honestly, Layla, I _was_ worried we were going to face this problem" said Jeremy, looking at his own food, before passing his leftover meatballs to Odd (who was sitting next to him), much to the spiky-haired blonde's glee. "William isn't vulnerable to the Return To The Past, so he was bound to get suspicious; what I don't understand is why he's threatening us to put him back in the group".

William, in fact, not only had exploded and insulted Layla when his two classmates had broken the news, but he had also threatened to tell the principal everything if they didn't accept him again in the Lyoko Warriors.

"Maybe he's jealous?" suggested Odd, pointing his fork.

Now, Odd wasn't joking about his question, and he didn't intend to, but he didn't even thought for a second that it could give a certain brunette the wrong idea.

This brunette, who was sitting across from him, _did_ get the wrong idea and he kicked him under the table.

"Yeah" he spat "Maybe he's jealous of YOU, because of Layla". Odd's cheeks burned a flaming red as he kicked his best friend back in response.

"Like I don't know the reason you kicked me, my dear Ulrich!" he smirked, watching as his friend turned even redder; he suddenly howled when the brunette's foot hit him hard on the leg, a foot which had kicked millions of hard soccer balls over the years and hadn't hesitated to show off this fact to the leg.

"Do they always do that?" Layla whispered to Yumi, (to do so, she had to lean a bit, since Yumi was sitting opposite her) slightly giggling.

She shrugged. "Guess they do; I'm not a usual witness, though".

Aelita laughed, watching the two boys foot-battling for their girls, of which one was giggling and the other one was staring at them as if they were talking Kankrelats.

 _Ah, young love_ she thought between laughs.

Layla started to join the pinkette when Ulrich, who was next to her, missed his target and hit Yumi. He turned bright red when the Japanese girl stared at him wide-eyed, before she stepped on his foot as revenge; Odd laughed cruelly when Ulrich howled in pain, but his laughs died away when two feet belonging to the girl next to him and the boy opposite him hit him. Soon, the battle morphed into a one VS two, and the whole cafeteria was cheering through the whole lunchbreak, some also betting on the winner, or laughing like Aelita and Layla.

* * *

When the war was over, Odd, Ulrich and Yumi were walking with their friends back to class, the two 'best friends' high-fiving for their victory against a black-and-blue-legged depressed Odd. That was when they saw a small little crowd gathering around one of the columns.

"What's happening?" Aelita asked. Odd face palmed. "I forgot, today's the day!"

"What?"

Odd explained: "Yesterday, Milly and Tamiya announced that, since the Kadic News was having a few idea problems, they decided to make an election to choose a Director; today, people sign up for elections and voting starts at the end of class".

Aelita smiled at Jeremy: "You'd make a good Director" she said.

Jeremy blushed and shook his head: "I have lots of work to do with Lyoko and Layla's PC…"

The orange-headed girl shook her head: "I told you, I'll work on my PC: I want to find out more about Lyoko and what's all that have to do with me; I remind you me or my parents have something to do with X.A.N.A.". She pointed at her t-shirt, the white X.A.N.A. symbol on it in plain view.

Jeremy nodded. "Alright; anyway, I was saying, I have to work on Lyoko, I have to find more about X.A.N.A.'s resurrection, about Delenda, not to mention Layla's scan results: X.A.N.A. messed the whole thing up during the procedure; you'll have to wait a bit before I can figure it out" he said those last words turning towards the girl in question.

Layla shrugged: "It's ok, I can wait".

Odd looked at the crowd and shifted the topic back to the Kadic News: "To sign up for the election, you must bring a paper to the girls with name, grade and a few things you'll do as Director"

"Why not just make an assembly where people speak up?" asked Ulrich.

"I guess the principal didn't agree on skipping classes for an assembly" his best friend answered. "So they just get the papers of the aspiring Directors, they hang them up on the board over there" He pointed at a magnetic whiteboard standing near one of the columns. "And people look at the papers before writing the name of the person they vote on a piece of paper and putting it in a sealed box".

Well, one thing is sure: we can vote, but none of us can sign up" said Yumi, looking at the small crowd. "X.A.N.A. and school is enough stress for us; we don't need anything else to worry about".

Odd frowned. "But I'm Class Rec too; yet, I'm not stressing out".

Ulrich smirked. "That's because you don't study at all; thus, you don't have to worry about homework". Everyone but Odd laughed. Then, as they walked towards their classes, Layla stopped for a second to grab her notebook and a pen.

* * *

"So, I hope you two chose my paper above all of the other ones" Sissi smirked, while giving the paper to the young journalists.

"We pick the all the papers, Sissi" Milly frowned. "Good or bad; but maybe we'll make exceptions for papers written by mean Miss Perfects".

Sissi frowned for a second. Then, she leaned closer to the redhead and whispered: "What you call 'mean' I call 'telling the truth'; and, speaking of telling the truth, you owe me for convincing Daddy to accept your election idea" she then smiled and raised the girl's chin "If you know what I mean, little girl" she walked away, leaving a disgusted Milly and an angry Tamiya pondering over the favor they owed to the spoiled teen.

"Hi girls!" a person walked over the two and smiled. "What's wrong?"

Milly told the person everything. "Don't worry" the person said. "I'm sure you'll be able to fix this problem; plus, I doubt many people would like Sissi as the Kadic News Director after last time; anyway" the person gave them a slip of paper. "Here".

The person ran towards class. If they found out that he/she **(A/N: person gender is anonymous for now)** was still not in class, they might get suspicious. She/He quickly ran to class, smiling to him/herself, her/his blue shirt showing through her/his open jacket.

* * *

That night, Sissi was lying in bed when her phone beeped, meaning a text had arrived. She read the text, curiously, a sly smile creeping across her face.

"Now, that's interesting" she said, typing quickly the answers to the text's questions.

* * *

The next day, Layla was looking at the whiteboard, which was still near the column, and smiled.

"Who did you vote for?" asked Odd, coming towards her, a sly smile across his face.

She shrugged. "You; I liked your paper" she smiled. " But I thought you weren't supposed to sign up".

"Well, that doesn't mean YOU should sign up".

Layla looked down at Odd and frowned. ( **A/N: I remind you that, since she's a grade above him, she's also taller; about as tall as Yumi)**

"Well, you're Class Rec, Aelita and Jeremy work night and day at the Supercomputer, Ulrich struggles with school, Yumi…I don't know what she does, but anyway, you all have something to do either than study or going to Lyoko; I just want something fun to do"

Odd raised his hand and held her chin up. "Just because I tell you you sign up" he said. "Doesn't mean I didn't convince the others to let it slide and vote for you".

Layla lit up. "They're not mad at me?" He shook his head.

"No; they're happy you're trying something". He gently stroked her cheek. "I'm sure you'll win; everyone loves your paper"

The older girl smiled, but quickly broke into a deep blush when she realized what he was doing on her cheek. He quickly brought back his hand, his own cheeks resembling tomatoes; she just brought back a messy lock from her face and took his hand, before running with him tugging behind.

"Race you to the cafeteria, svelte!" She called back, letting go of his hand and running towards the small building. He watched her leave, her orange hair glistening in the sunlight, his hand smelling of her soap and still trying to grasp her warmth.

He shook his head when he remembered what she had said, and ran like the wind towards the cafeteria to beat her, his face breaking into a smile when she arrived first and raised her hand in victory.

* * *

Layla was in class, staring at the clock. Yumi was sitting next to her, and giving death glares to William, who was mouthing back words like: "So? What did they say?" or "Remember".

"One of these days" whispered Yumi, her left hand clenched in a fist. "William will have a really big black eye".

"I prefer you leave me the honor to give him some damage" Layla told her, eyes still glued to the clock handles. "By the way, thanks for voting for me".

"No problem". Yumi gave a last if-looks-could-kill stare to the dark-haired boy and turned back to the blackboard.

" _Attention students"_ the speaker rang loud and clear in all the classrooms, and all of the students jerked their head upwards, the Lyoko Warriors (apart from Layla, whose head was already upwards) included.

" _Milly Solovieff and Tamiya Diop have come to announce the new Director of Kadic News"._ There was a sound in the background, meaning the microphone was getting passed to the two girls.

" _Ahem"_ Milly cleared her voice. _"The winner of the election, thus the new Director of Kadic News is…"_ Her voice lowered.

" _Sissi Delmas"._

A sigh of disappointment came from all students, and Layla stared at the speaker in the class, her eyes wide.

"How…How…How…" Yumi stammered, shocked: she could understand other students, but Sissi? Sissi was voted by most of the school?

"Weird" Layla mumbled, her eyes darting back to the photos she had printed from her computer: they were photos of Lyoko. She looked at a specific one, and her eyes widened.

"Hey, Yumi" she said, tapping the Japanese girl's shoulder. "Look here: see, those are some kind of Lyoko-security-camera photos" she whispered.

Yumi's eyes widened. "You study those in _class?_ " she whispered loudly.

Layla shrugged. "I can manage school and Lyoko Studies" she said. "Anyways," she pointed at one of the photos. "Care to explain _that?_ ".

Yumi looked at the photo. "Oh" she said. "Oh, that…maybe X.A.N.A. used Photoshop" she hid her face in her hands, so that no one noticed her blush.

Layla looked at the photo and smirked. Photoshop? And Bloks might fly!

"Well" she said. "That goes in which folder? 'I'd rather not talk about it' or 'I'd _love_ to talk about it but I'd rather not'?"

"Just work on other photos" her friend snapped quietly. Layla sighed and folded the photo before quickly hiding it in her bag.

* * *

"So, I was working on the PC and realized that X.A.N.A. was monitoring our movements in the real world _and_ on Lyoko; but there were only small shots of the real world" Layla showed Jeremy a few photos, while Yumi looked at some others with Ulrich. But the orange-headed girl had slipped the photo she had folded between these ones, causing an immediate blush between the two when they saw it. Ulrich quickly slipped the photo in Layla's bag before anyone noticed.

"I wonder why X.A.N.A. was recording and taking pictures of all Lyoko attacks" Aelita wondered, looking at a picture of her in the clutches of the Scyphozoa.

"My guess is that he wanted to learn from his mistakes" Jeremy answered. "So that every time he re-watched the footage, he'd learn something new and send a better army on the next attack".

They stared at the photos, thoughtfully.

"How's your progress, Einstein?" asked Odd, breaking the silence.

"Well, I've found out there was some kind of power source that kept X.A.N.A. alive" the genius said. "I've also discovered that Franz Hopper's diary is missing a few pieces: someone or something deleted them"

Aelita thought about it. "I think Daddy deleted them because they had something to do with a top-secret project" she said. "A very dangerous one, too: I think I remember something about it"

Ulrich looked at her. "What?" he asked.

Aelita shrugged. "I had that memory as a dream last night: Daddy was telling Mum about project Carthage and how he thought of creating something to help him control it; he also said something about AIs turning human, but I didn't understand that part"

"Then the memory switched to a few years later: he was leaving, probably to work on the Supercomputer; I asked him what he was working on and he told me that he couldn't tell me; I asked why and he told me that, if he told me and maybe someone bad heard, then all the work he'd done would be vain"

Aelita paused for a moment. "Once, he told me he'd bring Mum back" she said, thoughtfully, then she shook her head, smiling sadly. "He said he'd have a guardian angel to destroy the prison that held her and help her out; but I know it's just something he told me to cheer me up". Tears started to form on her face.

Jeremy hugged her, while Yumi stood up from the bench and went to pat her on the back. Everyone else walked towards her and squeezed her in a tight group hug.

"Hey there, Goggles!" the Lyoko Warriors parted and looked back in the direction the voice had come from: a boy, 9th grader probably, was pointing at Jeremy and laughing.

Jeremy blushed deep red as people from every single direction gathered around, pointing and yelling "Goggly Goggles!" over and over.

"Goggly Goggles?" Odd asked Jeremy. The boy turned around from the crowd and blushed at his friends.

"I was eight!" he whispered angrily. "Eight years old when I came to school wearing swimming goggles instead of glasses!"

Odd chuckled softly, to avoid hurting his feelings, while Jeremy kept asking himself how the heck did they discover his old nickname when he'd hid it for five long years.

"King Boo!" yelled someone, pointing at Odd. Everyone laughed and the four friends dragged Odd and Jeremy in the woods. Layla had a bad feeling, so she stopped for a second to pick up something.

Odd, meanwhile, was in shock and could barely speak. Yumi had to smack his face to get him over his shock; as if she had pressed a button, the second she slapped him Odd instantly yelled: "I WAS FOUR AND NO ONE BUT MY KINDERGARTEN MATES AND MY FAMILY KNOWS ABOUT KING BOO! WHO TOLD THEM?"

He buried his face in his hands. "My life is ruined" he murmured.

"And not only yours" Layla said, a copy of the Kadic News in her hand. "look here" she passed the newspaper to her friends. They stared at it, wide-eyed.

"'Sissi Delmas announces that, from now on, Kadic News will be called 'Delmas Gossip' and will contain every single thing you didn't know about every student'" Yumi read aloud. "'It's also now a rule that the 25th of every month'-that's today!-'Will be 'Le jour de Nickname' ( **A/N: Nickname Day)** and a special page will be put up with one different nickname for all of the students from their past' Here's the list…Oh dear God!" she looked at her name and the nickname associated with it.

Odd looked at the nickname and smirked: "Yumi the Licorice Fairy?"

Yumi punched him: "I was FIVE!" she yelled. "It was around Halloween!".

Ulrich clenched his fists when he read his nickname: "How did she translate 'Cuddly Bear' from German?" he spat. Then he threw his hands in the air. "Oh Megatanks, I'm never gonna hear the end of it!"

Aelita looked at her nickname: "Pinky Pie" she smiled. "Mum used to call me that".

Layla stared at her. "Weird; you were born years before the My Little Pony, yet you're named after one"

Aelita shrugged: "Sweetie Pie, Pinky Pie…get it?".

"I'm _not_ going to school while everyone calls me Goggly Goggles!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"And I refuse to go back to school _and_ home" Yumi crossed her arms and frowned, like a spoiled child. "Hiroki would tease me forever"

"What about me?" the German boy couldn't take his eyes off the newspaper. "The star soccer player called 'Cuddly Bear'? Every single girl in the school wouldn't stop flirting!" This made Yumi see red.

"They'd better not even _try_!" she said, a bit too loudly.

Odd and Layla were about to tease her because she was jealous, when a beeping sound came from Jeremy's computer. He looked at it and sighed.

"Just what we needed: an activated tower in the Mountain Sector" he said. They went towards the manhole, but a high-pitched voice stopped them before they could get in the sewers.

"And where do you think you're going?" Sissi announced her presence, Milly and Tamiya tugging behind.

"Uh…to lunch" Layla said quickly, grabbing Odd and Aelita's hands and zooming away, followed tightly by the other three.

* * *

"With Sissi patrolling the area looking for scoops, escaping won't be easy" Jeremy sighed, glancing at his food and avoiding everyone's gaze.

"It's madness!" Yumi exclaimed. "The whole school population's nicknames are revealed! Everyone's making fun of everyone!" she gave death glares to a couple of girls making fun of her and cooing to Ulrich, who was holding his ears to avoid listening to them.

Layla looked at Sissi, questioning a student. "I wonder how she got those nicknames…" she wondered, opening her laptop and clicking a folder that said 'Tower Records'.

She scrolled through a long list of timetables, until she found it: a file that had been added that day.

"Bingo!" she said aloud. (no one but her friends heard her: they were too busy fighting over their nicknames) "A record about an activated tower last night!" she opened the file: a blue document with millions of unreadable codes written on it appeared in front of her. She read them and snapped her fingers.

"There! X.A.N.A.'s the reason Sissi is the director!"

"What?" five voices exclaimed at the same time. She showed them the document.

"It says here that he texted her, offering his collaboration: every single thing about the students and professors in exchange of precious scoops and the Director title; being an AI, this info isn't really hard to get".

"But why does he need students and professors descriptions?" asked Ulrich.

Jeremy thought for a while and then turned towards the brunette. "If you ask me, it's to know Everyone's weakness and strong qualities" he answered. "Think about it: with this info, X.A.N.A. won't have any doubts: if he needs a specific person to possess…"

"He could just rummage through the description and choose the right person" finished Yumi. "But, X.A.N.A. has just got the descriptions; what if…" she was interrupted by a loud scream, as a girl slammed the door open: "The teachers have gone insane!" she screamed.

Panic flooded the room, while the six ran out of the school to reach the forest. Unfortunately, they were stopped at the forest entrance by the History teacher. In his eyes was a well-known symbol.

"Run!" Layla screamed to the others. Odd didn't move, while the others, after a brief hesitation, obeyed.

The History Teacher sent a Xanafied Mrs. Hertz to chase the others, while he remained to deal with the two. He walked towards them and fired a ball of lightning towards Layla. With a scream, Odd pushed her away, but was hit in the process.

"Odd!" Layla screamed, her arm reaching for his with no luck, as the History Teacher came closer to the boy, electricity beaming from his palms.

With a _zap!_ , a shot of electricity hit the teacher, who fainted. Odd, who somehow didn't faint when the lightning ball hit him, stared at Layla wide eyes: she was looking at her hand, a residue of the electric beam she had fired before lingering on her palm, before disappearing.

"How the heck did you…" he asked, looking at her hand.

"I-I-I don't know" she stammered, pointing her palm to a tree and concentrating. A ball of lightning appeared in her hand, and she shot it at the tree.

Odd shrugged and dialed a number on his cell. "Weird or not weird, at least we can fight those things". He said, as Layla helped him up on his feet.

* * *

Aelita listened to her friend on the phone: "Ok, Odd, try and find Ulrich and Yumi, or come here yourself…Yes, we lost them…Ok, we'll do our best…Bye" she hanged up and looked at Jeremy, who was sitting on the chair in the Lab. "Layla has some kind of electrical powers or something" she said. "She and Odd are going off to find Ulrich and Yumi".

Jeremy typed some keys. "I think we'll have to launch a Return To The Past afterwards" he said. "The students won't easily forget the possessed teachers and classmates firing lightning bolts from their hands"

Aelita looked at the screen. "I know I've got Energy Fields" she said. "But I can't go to Lyoko alone: X.A.N.A. might try and pull something off"

"Who says you're alone?" a familiar voice called from behind. The two Einsteins turned and saw a familiar face looking at them.

"I don't think..." Jeremy started to say, but Aelita interrupted him.

"He's our only hope: who knows when will the others arrive… _if_ they arrive, that is".

Jeremy shrugged. "Alright, but be careful this time" he warned the familiar figure, as Aelita stepped near him in the elevator.

"Now, William, you and Aelita get into the scanners".

* * *

Yumi and Ulrich were in the shed, guarded by three Xanafied soccer players.

Ulrich looked at Yumi: they had both been caught by surprise and they had passed out. Now he had just woken up and had examined carefully all of the possible escape routes: all of them guarded.

"Why do we always have to end trapped together?" he asked softly. He couldn't but think that the fainted girl near him was so beautiful when she slept…

 _Focus, Ulrich!_ He told himself. _What's X.A.N.A.'s plan?_

He looked at the windows: open, so he didn't want them to suffocate. He smelled the air and looked around: no signs of fire, water or poisonous gas. Then what was X.A.N.A. doing? Did he just wanted to block them while Aelita went alone on Lyoko, thus getting divurtualized and then she couldn't come back?

 _Maybe he's looking for Layla and Odd_ he thought. _The question is, why? Why not kill us in a hurry? Maybe he's using us for an ultimatum?_

He flinched remembering the time the principal was Xanafied and had kidnapped Yumi and Odd, thus giving the rest of the gang an ultimatum: Aelita's memory for the girl he loved and his best friend's lives.

 _I hope we're going to be ok_ he looked back at the fainted Yumi beside him and smiled.

* * *

"Ok, here's the plan: I'll distract them with my electric powers, while you'll get the lovebirds out" Layla was behind a bush, telling Odd how to free their friends.

"How do you know they are in the garden shed?" asked Odd.

Layla opened her laptop and showed him a file. "Says here that Ulrich and Yumi are considered both dangerous and weak" she said. "X.A.N.A.'s first priority is to avoid both of them to reach Lyoko, since they're the ones monsters should look out from the most".

"So?"

"Aelita said she had reached the manhole when she realized the two weren't with her and Jeremy: the nearest place to the manhole X.A.N.A. could lock them in is the shed; plus" she pointed at an open window near the document. "Their phone signal points here".

Odd nodded and creeped slowly towards the shed. After giving her a thumbs up, the girl closed her laptop, hid it and jumped from the bush.

"BANZAIII!" she yelled, firing electric beams from her hands to the soccer players.

* * *

Aelita stood up from the ground and looked behind her: William wasn't used to the landing, so he had landed in an uncomfortable position; his suit was white again, but his sword was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is it?" he asked, looking around.

Jeremy spoke up: "Apparently, the powers you had when you were Xanafied weren't X.A.N.A.'s doing: they are part of your avatar".

"So that means?" asked William.

"Just make the sword appear" the pinkette answered.

William concentrated, and thick white smoke formed in his left hand, taking shape of his sword.

"Ok; now let's go" the two ran towards the tower, a few Bloks greeting them in their path.

* * *

"Thanks guys" Ulrich said, smiling at Odd and Layla. "But, how did you…"

Layla interrupted him. "Aelita needs your help: she and William are stuck with some Bloks"

"She and _who_?" the two boys exclaimed. She showed them an image from her laptop: William using his Supersmoke (which was white) to creep towards an unknown Blok, while Aelita fired Energy Fields from a rock.

"You two go and help them; I'll protect Yumi" she looked at the unconscious girl laying on the ground. The two boys hesitated.

Layla glared at them. "Staying there won't help the school, you know!" she told them. They slowly nodded and headed to the factory.

Layla ran towards the Hermitage with Yumi and hid in Aelita's old room.

She looked at her laptop. "Ok, X.A.N.A., how many people did you possess?" she asked, typing something on the screen.

* * *

"About time!" Jeremy looked at the two boys. "Run to the scanners and help Aelita and William!"

"We're going now" Ulrich pressed the button and the elevator door closed in front of them.

"William, hang in there: Odd and Ulrich are coming to join the fight!" Jeremy said, pressing the keys to start the virtualization.

"We're ready!" called Odd.

"Ok! Transfer Ulrich; Transfer Odd; Scanner Ulrich; Scanner Odd; Vitualization!".

* * *

Odd and Ulrich virtualized in the middle of the battle. "About time!" yelled William, who was blocking several lasers with his sword.

"Laser Arrow!" Odd yelled, and shot three Laser Arrows. One missed, whilst two hit the target.

"Odd, Ulrich, get Aelita to the tower; I'll handle those things" William slashed his sword once and a wave of energy blew up three monsters in front of him.

The two Lyoko Warriors nodded, as their vehicles virtualized themselves in front of them.

Before Ulrich left, William approached him. "How's Yumi?" he asked.

Ulrich looked down. "She's seen better days" he murmured in response, before starting the Overbike 'engine'.

* * *

"Wake up, Yumi! Wake up! Ulrich is marrying Sissi in less than a minute!" Layla shook her friend, but she wouldn't wake up.

"Yumi! Yumi! Wake up! Please wake up!" she shook her wrist. "We need you to fight X.A.N.A.!".

These words weren't new to her, but there wasn't any time for wondering where she had heard them: half an hour had passed and Yumi hadn't even twitched.

Layla was about to shake her again, when something stopped her; she looked at her hand that was holding the wrist of her friend. She saw one of the medallions of her belt glow, but she didn't pay much attention to that: what shocked her was that faint sound she heard: _tu-tump…_ _...tu-tump…...tu-tump..._

She let go of the wrist and reached for her phone. "Jeremy!" she practically screamed in the speaker. "Hurry up with that tower! Yumi's heartbeat is getting slower and slower! I think…" she looked at a red mark on the unconscious girl's forehead.

"I think X.A.N.A. electrocuted her really bad".

* * *

Jeremy listened to Layla's words, hardly believing his ears.

"Ok, we'll do all we can…Don't worry…Stay safe, Layla" he hanged up. "Guys, hurry up! Yumi's been gravely electrocuted and I have to launch a Return To The Past ASAP!"

"You think it's easy?" Ulrich yelled, while his second clone got destroyed by a Krabe. "We're surrounded here! William's lost too much energy and Odd's a laser away from getting devirtualized!".

Aelita looked at the monsters: they were guarding the tower well, but the behind part was unguarded, since it was a step away from the edge of the ground and no monster could possibly walk there.

While the others distracted the monsters, Aelita touched her star bracelet and flew to the unguarded part of the tower, taking care not to fall in the Digital Sea. She then landed safely on the small part of ground that separated the tower from the edge.

"Guys, Aelita's near the tower!" called Jeremy.

"Reall-ow!" Ulrich's half a second distraction was enough for a Krabe to shoot him, devirtualizing him in the process.

Ulrich came out of the scanner, banging his fist on it. "Stupid me!" he mumbled. "Let's hope Aelita deactivates the tower in time" he called Layla.

* * *

Layla was checking on Yumi for the millionth time, when the old door burst open and four possessed teachers entered the room.

 _Great job on forgetting to bolt the door, Layla!_ she thought.

* * *

Aelita had entered the tower. She walked towards the center and levitated upwards.

* * *

Layla looked in the eyes of the teacher and frowned at the X.A.N.A. symbol. She held her palms one in front of the other; blue sparks started to form between them.

"Alright, who's the first to interrogate me?" she asked.

* * *

Aelita stepped on the platform and made her way towards the center.

* * *

Ulrich looked at Jeremy, his eyes wide with worry. Jeremy looked at him with an encouraging smirk. "Don't worry" he reassured the brunette. "Yumi's a strong girl".

Odd entered the room, followed by William, both looking really worried.

* * *

The screen appeared. Aelita put her hand on it.

* * *

Layla looked at the first teacher coming towards her. She fired a lightning bolt.

"This is for electrocuting Yumi!" she said.

* * *

AELITA

The pinkette quickly typed the code.

* * *

The three teachers surrounded her, one of them pointing her hand towards Yumi.

"What?" Layla looked at her friend. "Back off!" and she fired another bolt.

* * *

CODE LYOKO

Aelita looked at the binary codes sliding towards the bottom and sighed. "Tower deactivated".

* * *

The teachers fainted and Layla ran towards Yumi. She felt her pulse. Turning pale, she picked her ringing phone.

"Jeremy" she said. "Her pulse is getting better…" Yumi opened one eye.

"Layla" she murmured. "Wha-what happened?" she winced and closed her eyes again.

"Yumi?" Layla shook her slightly. "Yumi!" She shook her again. "Jeremy!" she yelled, tears in her eyes.

Ulrich, who had heard everything, looked at the keyboard and quickly pressed enter, before Jeremy could even breathe. "Return To The Past, now!" he yelled. A white bubble of light engulfed the whole world, sending them back in class.

* * *

"So, he's back in the group?" Yumi asked Layla, who was looking at the photos yet again.

She nodded. "He helped, you know; but he'll be called only when necessary" she looked at the picture she had pointed to Yumi before, smirking and folding it.

"Jeremy said that Ulrich had immediately pressed the enter key when you closed your eyes again; he really cares about you" she smiled.

"Oh, anyone would've done it" she mumbled; but she couldn't help but smile too.

" _Ahem"_ Milly's voice echoed from the speaker.

The girls' attention turned to the girl's voice: since Sissi had won thanks to X.A.N.A., and he had been beaten, they wondered who was the true winner to the contest.

" _The winner of the election, thus the new Director of Kadic News is…_ " Everyone held their breath…

" _Layla Carthago_ "

Everyone started to clap and cheer, while some people started congratulating a startled Layla (who managed to hide the photos just in time before anyone could see them). Yumi and William smiled at her, while the bell announcing lunchbreak rang happily five minutes later.

* * *

"So, what's your plans for the newspaper?" Odd asked the happy girl. She smiled.

"Next issue's next week; I'm planning on a few ways to get more scoops and making the Kadic News more interesting" she wrote something down.

"Plus," she whispered. "I'm planning on having a page or two dedicated to stories: a whole page will be dedicated to a small story readers can send me"

"And the other one?"

She smiled. "It will be a series of adventures: the adventures of six teens as they battle a mysterious ruler of a parallel world" she looked at the folded Lyoko picture she was holding and blushed slightly.

"There's also romance in it: two boys who like the two princesses from this parallel world (which are part of the team) and the other two heroes who don't have the courage to express each other's feelings for the other one" she didn't dare look at her friends, but she knew that, like her, they were all blushing. She smiled again at the folded photo in her hand and put it in her bag, where it opened slightly, revealing the familiar orange space of the Desert Sector.

* * *

 **So, what do you think? What is in the folded picture? (If you don't know, you'll never know, since I'm not planning in mentioning the photo later on. Mwahahahaha!)**

 **Review! Also, I repeat: if you have any ideas for X.A.N.A. attacks, review and tell me! Hope you enjoyed chapter 2! Next chapter…ehm, plz tell me you have a X.A.N.A. attack in mind!**

 **Stay tuned for more adventures! ;-)**


	4. Ep 3: Made in Lyoko

**Hey there everyone! Miss me? Did you figured the photo of the last chapter out?**

 **Anyway…**

 **I remind you, plz tell me if you have a good X.A.N.A. attack in mind, or at least an episode plot: I wanna make this AT LEAST thirty chapters and I have some of them in mind, but attack ideas are getting really difficult to come up with…Anyways, you're here to read, right? Onwards!**

* * *

 _ **Review Anwers:**_

 _ **Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: I hope you're alright and the William Clone didn't hurt you badly; but now I got an idea! Thanks!**_

 _ **William's going to prove his loyalty many times, just wait and see. And about Yumi and Ulrich…Well, I have something up my sleeve which will give them a push in the right direction…Oops! I said too much!**_

* * *

 **Yumi: I refuse to take part in episode 15!**

 **Layla: You say so, but do you MEAN it?**

 **Odd: She doesn't mean it: SecretCodeLyokan told us about this episode 6 years ago, and she still has it in mind; yeah, a few details changed, but the plot is the same…**

 **Yumi/Ulrich: *blush***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: HEY! You two get the Hell out of here! You're spoiling the Episode of the Episodes surprise!**

 **Ulrich: So?**

 **Aelita: Well, do you want to tell every single Ulumi fan what the "Episode of the Episodes" is about and ruin the whole surprise effect?**

 **Ulrich: What the heck is "Ulumi"? Are people thinking we'll get together?**

 **Layla: Last time I checked, most of the Code Lyokans , when picking their favorite Yumix? and Ulrichx? couple, chose Ulumi.**

 **Ulrich: *throws arms in the air* God helps us! We're just friends!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: It's clear as a crystal you two love each other.**

 **Odd: Says the girl who didn't see the first season at all and figured out Yumi and Ulrich loved each other only when she saw "The Chips Are Down".**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *frowns* I skipped "Valentine's Day", "New Order", "Exploration" and "Missing Link".**

 **Odd: It still took you long enough.**

 **Aelita: *smirks* And if Yumi doesn't have him, YOU could still get him…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *turns red* Shut the heck up! Ok, I recently have a crush on Ulrich, so what? I still ship Ulumi! And I would ship it 'till the end of my life!**

 **Yumi/Ulrich: Help…**

 **Yumi: Wait, you LIKE Ulrich?**

 **Layla/Odd/Aelita: Here we go again…**

 **Layla: Well, if we're lucky, things might end up like in "Routine", but maybe this time…*smirks***

 **Yumi/Ulrich: LAYLA!**

 **Aelita: Why, what happened in "Routine"?**

 **Yumi/Ulrich: Oh, look at the time! We'd better start with the episode! *runs away***

 **Aelita: I'm confused…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *turns deep red in embarrassment and fans herself when she remembers "Routine"* I think it's better this remains a secret between us fans, Ulrich, Yumi and Layla. Anyway, they're right: nearly five hundred words out of the window!**

 **Aelita: Then stop typing!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: First, the disclaimer. And today, Odd shall pronounce it.**

 **Odd: SecretCodeLyokan would give ANYTHING to own Code Lyoko…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Wow! I just wrote five hundred words!**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 3: Made In Lyoko**

* * *

A shadow crept over the blue screens. It looked at each and every one of them carefully before grunting in annoyance.

"What do you mean 'PROCESS INCOMPLETE'?" He yelled. "I need more!"

The shadow sighed. "The processes are getting harder and harder" he mumbled. "Especially since..." He shook the memory away. Then, he looked back at the screens: "I have the other ones" he said. "But, I promised..." he thought for a while.

Then, the shadow materialized two strange beings. The weren't red or yelow, like their kind: on the contrary, they were a bright blue, like the walls of the tunnel they were into.

"I'm about to launch an attack" he said. "Making more of you is getting harder every day, that's why you must fight; now, you twogather the best fighters and go!" The beings hesitated, before bowing and slowly retreating.

The shadow closed the blue screen and opened another one: in it, there was a picture of a young girl, laughing with another one which was older by at least four or five years.

"Everything will be explained, my dear" he said to the older girl in the picture. "Once you come back, Delenda, everything will be explained...I'm sorry if I'm doing this, but..."

He pointed a finger to the disappearing monsters. A lightning bolt hit them, and he could hear their screams of pain throughout the tunnel. Then it stopped, the last echoes disappeared; he hadn't turn around from the screens, but he knew that the beings that walked away were changed: what little memory they had was wiped, their color had changed, and their objective was only four words:

 _Stop the Lyoko Warriors._

* * *

Layla kicked the table in frustration. "The school should pay for printers!". She looked at that old piece of rusty stone-age metal carcass that the principal called 'Printer/Photocopier/Scanner'. "I'll put a little advertisement in the next issue!"

Milly looked at the newspaper draft and sighed. "Mr. Delmas told us we'll be getting new printers only if all the students like the Kadic News; and you know how it is, people buy the newspaper once in a blue moon…"

"Things are going to change from now on" said Layla. "We have everything: stories, news, comic section…I thought about it and that's enough to get everyone interested".

Tamiya put the paper in the printer and pressed the "copy" button. "Let's hope it works…"

The two small girls and the 10th grader watched as the old printer carcass scanned the paper. Suddenly, without warning, the printer swallowed the draft with a weird metallic sound, before spitting it out from the printing slot a few seconds later, in the form of useless confetti.

Milly and Tamiya stared wide-eyed, while Layla bent over to pick up to remains of the paper.

"Well, it is a broken carcass, after all" she said. "Milly, tell the principal to get another printer; Tamiya, you try and find another one possibly not a carcass like this".

The girls rushed out of the room, while Layla knocked on the top of the piece of metal, to see if it reacted.

 _Toc toc_ went the metal when hit. The thing didn't move, though: it stayed there, regardless of the knocking.

 _If it's really X.A.N.A., then why isn't the printer trying to kill me?_ She asked herself.

She was interrupted by a metallic sound coming from behind her. Before she had time to think, she shot an electric beam at the computer which was buzzing dangerously, blowing the thing up.

 _Guess we have a new scoop_ she thought. She looked at her belt and saw all ten ovals glowing simultaneously.

* * *

"I had to tell the principal the computer had overheated and exploded in front of me" Layla was saying to Jeremy. "I was lucky that the story was even believable!".

Jeremy thought about it. "Are you sure the computer wasn't really overheating?"

"Einstein, I know what I saw! Unless somehow computers can turn on themselves and overheat in the process, I'd say the thing was trying to explode on _purpose_ "

Jeremy thought again. "Well, the Superscan didn't pick up any towers; maybe it's just a malfunctioning…"

"And Bloks may fly!" the orange-headed girl spat, rushing out of the genius's room and into her own.

She opened her PC and started working on a document that said: "Electric Links".

 _I wonder why X.A.N.A. would write_ _that much stuff and put it in a computer…_ she thought, looking at the Lyoko 'surveillance cameras' while she was at it.

* * *

Yumi waited patiently for her friend to arrive. She waved at the girl, but frowned when she noticed her gloomy face.

"What happened? Odd's datng someone?" She joked.

Layla shook her head: "No; but according to Einstein, a computer which turns itself on tries to explode is _normal!_ " Yumi looked puzzled. Layla walked in class while telling the whole story.

* * *

Odd yawned. "Will this class ever end?" he asked Ulrich, who was sitting next to him.

"Odd, we've been here scarcely five minutes!" the brunette whispered back.

"Yeah, but it's so boooooring!" his best friend moaned loudly.

"Odd, would you like to go to the principal? I'm sure it's less 'boooooring' than here" Mrs. Hertz called to him.

The whole class erupted in laughs, while Odd blushed like ripe tomato and nervously scratched the back of his neck.

Fortunately, Odd was literally saved by the bell: a loud ring interrupted the laughter, while everyone looked both scared and puzzled.

"Lunch bell at this hour?" Mrs. Hertz looked at her watch. "It's hardly 8:07!"

"See, Odd?" the brunette pointed out. Odd shrugged.

"Maybe her watch has a loose screw"

"Maybe _you_ have a loose screw!"

"Maybe you should look at the other clocks!"

"Maybe _you_ should checked them" Ulrich pointed at the clock above the door: it was eight past eight, according to the handles.

That, though didn't stop their silly squabble and they continued shouting sentemces at each other, Aelita chuckling in the background.

* * *

Five minutes had passed, and the bell still wouldn't stop, instead it got louder; now, students were holding hands over their ears.

Aelita gave a "You're thnking what I'm thinking?" look at the guys. Ulrich and Odd were too occupied yelling to see her, whilst Jeremy, to answer her, checked the Superscan.

"No towers, Aelita" he told her. Aelita wasn't sure about that, though.

She was even less sure when the laptop on his lap started blasting 'Break break break dance' from the speakers half a second later.

Odd and Ulrich stopped yelling and looked in front of them: Aelita was holding her hands over her ears tightly, while a red-faced Jeremy was trying to turn off the music.

Odd, of course started to sing along, whilst Ulrich ran out of the classroom, his hands over his ears because of the damn bell that was blowing up everyone's sense of hearing.

"Turn that thing off!" He heard students from his classroom yell to Jeremy, as he rushed towards the Italian classroom.

There, many students were running away from a computer plug, which was buzzing like mad.

Layla came out of the classroom, Yumi following behind.

"Technology rebellion?" Ulrich yelled over the noise. Yumi nodded: "We were watching some video clip and the plug started buzzing soon after the bell rang!" she shouted back.

"Well, Jeremy's computer is blasting that song Odd wrote, which is enough frustrating without the bell and Odd singing along!"

"I did tell Jeremy the printer attack wasn't an accident!" Layla complained. "But I guess his computer was bugged so the Supescan is giving him bad info; but then, why was my Superscan working?" she showed Ulrich her turned-on PC, the Superscan program she had installed beeping like mad.

"Maybe, since your computer has X.A.N.A.'s files, it's protected by the attacks!" Yumi told her.

"Well, we'd better go before X.A.N.A. targets us"

The three rushed out of the building, and they saw Aelita waiting for them outside.

"At least, I'm not the only sensible person around here" she said, smiling. "Do you think we should launch a Return To The Past afterwards?". Layla shook her head.

"We've used it far too many times: if X.A.N.A. has managed to take control of the school techno stuff, that means that the Return To The Past must've made him stronger" she heard a scream.

"Did you hear that? It came from the area around the dispenser machine!" Ulrich exclaimed, running towards the location

Layla ran towards him, the other girls tugging behind. "Ulrich" she said. "I know it's not the time, but: since when do you remember which classes me and Yumi have by heart?" Ulrich frowned.

"Years of practice?" he said.

Layla shook her head. "Did you forget we changed schedules yesterday?"

She ran even faster before he could say more.

* * *

"Break break break dance!" Odd screamed on the top of his lungs. Everyone tried to calm him down.

"Why did you put that song?" Someone asked Jeremy.

"My computer bugged" he just answered. He had managed to finally turn the darn thing off, but it was too late: Odd was stuck with the lyrics in his head.

"Let's get out of here!" yelled someone, and twenty-three students in the building and around campus ran towards the same hiding place that Odd and Jeremy were heading to: the Science Storage room.

* * *

"My dress!" the four other Lyoko Warriors had found out that the girl who had screamed had been attacked by a river of gone-bad soup, which kept spitting out of the dispenser machine.

Layla couldn't use her powers in public, so she just grabbed some stones and blocked the dispenser machine.

"I'm so glad I did that!" she said. "That thing gets on my nerves every day"

"We have to go to the factory" Aelita said. "The sooner we go, the better chances we have of not having to launch a Return To The Past"

* * *

"Ok, who had the brilliant idea to go in the storage room raises his hand!"

Jeremy and Odd looked at the two dusty computers, which were buzzing like mad, their plugs terrorizing the students.

"No time for jokes, Odd!" Jeremy took his phone and dialed a number.

 _This is the phone saying that every single escaping attempt is completely useless. Get ready to get your ear blown up after the beep._

Luckily, Jeremy was fast enough to throw the phone away before it overheated and blew up, much to the students' surprise.

"When we get out of here, we're getting new technologic equipment!" yelled a student. Several agreed his proposal.

"Uhm, guys" Odd, who had been trying to fend of the computer wires with an old javelin, stopped suddenly "If you really want to get out of here alive, I'd suggest you to RUN!".

The twenty-five students slammed the storage door open and ran for their lives, as the two old computers blew up with a tremendous _bang!_.

* * *

"Ok, you guys, I'm starting the transfer!" Aelita called from the speakers.

"Ready when you are!" the Japanese girl said, as she and her friends stepped in the scanner.

"Transfer Yumi; Transfer Layla; Transfer Ulrich; Scanner Yumi; Scanner Layla; Scanner Ulrich; Virtualization!". She then typed the keys for a delayed transfer.

The three landed in the Mountain Sector and the first thing Yumi and Ulrich did was look at Layla's clothes: her gloves and her whip handle were a pale purple, the same of the mountains surrounding them, whilst her dress, leggings and boots were a darker purple.

She examined her clothes, before brushing her plait on her left shoulder like always. "So, are you ready for action?" As if to answer her, Aelita virtualized between the three.

"Remember that you two have especially to protect me and Layla: Layla because she's vulnerable and me because I have to deactivate the tower". She said to the two Lyoko Warrior 'friends'.

Ulrich shrugged. "Well, I admit I missed the days in which you would die if your life points run out and we had to protect you" he said.

The four ran towards the tower, but they couldn't see it.

"Weird" Aelita pointed in front of her. "The tower's glitching" So it was: it was buzzing repeatedly and every once in a while, it would disappear completely.

"Do you think X.A.N.A. infected the Supercomputer with the same bug affecting the school technology?" Yumi asked.

"I think it might be it: he's affecting mostly Lyoko; the tower won't last long if we stand here" she ran towards the tower, but it disappeared.

"Great!" she scoffed. "And looked over there!" she pointed at the welcome committee.

* * *

The shadow looked at the screen, as the 'welcome commitee' started firing to his enemies.

"The tower might get destroyed anytime know" he smirked. "The attack will go on, while the virus will destroy..."

He stopped in mid-sentence, looking at one of the Lyoko Warriors pain filling his eyes as the girl fell on her knees in pain.

* * *

"Odd" Jeremy looked around the forest. "You must go to Lyoko: I think Aelita and the others need your help"

"What about the attack?" the blonde boy asked.

"Odd, it's serious!" Jeremy looked at him. "I think that, since the technology around the school's infected, than maybe X.A.N.A. bugged the Supercomputer as well; which means…" he nodded for him to finish.

Odd thought about it. "Glitches and bugs?"

"And…"

Odd thought again. "Uhm…goodbye Lyoko?"

"Maybe, but that's not what I'm talking about"

Odd thought harder, but nothing came to his mind.

"Odd! If the Supercomputer's infected, then everything linked to it-apart from X.A.N.A., probably-would be infected; and do we know someone who has a link to the Supercomputer?"

Odd was about to answer no, but he stopped in mid-sentence; without another minute's pause, he quickly nodded and rushed towards the sewers, his heart beating really fast.

* * *

"Layla, are you alright?" Aelita turned to her friend: she had fallen to her knees, and was now fending the monsters off with what little strength she had left.

"I…no" she said, holding her head in her hands.

" _You're part of the Supercomputer, and you can do everything: deactivate the towers, activate them, use the powers of every single avatar that appears on Lyoko…remember though: if you die, Lyoko would be lost forever"._

She stepped up.

 _I can't die_ she thought. _I'm not dying. I'm strong. They all need me._

Her belt glowed when she stood up, making all the monsters freeze; she looked at them, shocked: what were they doing?

* * *

Odd rushed to the factory, and charged towards the elevator. Unfortunately, the thing closed before he had even touched the chords and slid down.

"Right!" he said. "I forgot the elevator runs on electricity!". He decided to use to other way, but he had to pass millions of killer machines in the machine room.

A long time later, when he finally arrived, the tower was being deactivated.

"Well, guess they didn't need me" he said, putting the head piece on.

* * *

Now, while Odd was avoiding a few mechanical machines, Layla was still shocked by the monsters' behavior: the Krabe had stopped shooting and the Bloks had stopped pestering Aelita. One Blok in particular turned to to the Lyoko Warrior; like the Krabe did the red virtual monster offered his claw.

Layla touched it and looked at him; she smiled.

"You were the Krabe who fought the Marabounta" she said. The Blok joined the Krabe and bowed.

Ulrich and Yumi were aiming at the monsters' Eye, but Layla used her powers to devirtualize their weapons. Aelita got the message and fired her Energy Field to a rock

"Who kept you two alive?" she asked. "Are the others ok?"

The Krabe didn't say anything. But Layla knew he had said yes for the second question.

The Blok aimed a laser at the tower and shot it. Aelita screamed, for the laser had nearly hit her; the tower shifted from red to pink for a few seconds, as a blue bit fell from it.

Layla picked it up. "What is it?" she asked. The bit turned into a screen. IT started downloading a few things, then stopped and disappeared.

"Aelita, go in the tower" Layla told the pinkette. She nodded and walked towards it.

"Who are they?" Yumi looked at the Krabe, who bowed before her, much to the two Lyoko Warrior's surprise.

Layla smiled. "You remember that time you fought the Marabounta?" ( **A/N: They had told her about the Marabounta before, so she knew the whole story…yes, she knew even about the swimming pool thing [courtesy to Odd])**

Yumi's virtual eyes widened. "You're telling me they are…"

Layla nodded. "Someone or something spared them and prevented X.A.N.A. From letting them in the rest of the battles" she said, stroking the Krabe claw. "But I guess X.A.N.A. was having a few monster programming problems today and sent them here; I think their memories were also a bit damaged".

They stared at the two monsters, the other Bloks not moving a finger (if they had fingers, that is).

Ulrich had an idea. "Do you think Jeremy might be able to find a program that could make the Krabe invulnerable to the attacks and your personal vehicle?"

Layla thought about it. "That's not a bad idea" she said. She turned to the Blok.

"That bit you got from the tower" she said. "Can I get it too?" she slashed her whip at the tower: it didn't move, but a couple of bits fell from it.

She reached for them and began transferring five pieces of data: one for the Krabe, one for the Blok, one for the Tarantula, one for the Kankrelat abd one for the Megatank.

"Now we just need Jeremy" she said. As Aelita exit the tower, a familiar voice rang.

"Hey you! What is going on? I see four red circles in front of you, but you aren't moving a muscle!"

Layla smiled. "It's a long story, Odd" she said. "Do you mind going back to find Jeremy? We'll catch up with you"

Odd murmured a yes and left, knowing they had everything under control.

Layla waved at her friends, but suddenly gasped. "Wait, how on Earth am I gonna get back? If I get devirtualized, I'm lost forever…"

"What about us?" Ulrich asked. "You destroyed our…" Aelita didn't let him finish: she fired two Energy Fields at him and Yumi and they disappeared in a burst of pixels.

"So, what are we going to do for you?" she asked her friend. Layla smiled.

"I could use Code: Earth from the tower with my powers" she said. "I hope it works…" she went inside the now deactivated tower, while signing at the Bloks to fire the pinkeyte.

* * *

"Einstein!" Odd ran towards the blonde genius: he was lying near the manhole, probably been chased and caught by a computer or something, and had fainted out of terror or by the electric shock he had slightly caught. "Say something!"

"Something" smiled Jeremy, using Odd's joke.

"Everything's fine, Jer: the tower's deactivated, and Layla and the others woill be joining shortly"

True enough, Aelita, Yumi and Ulrich emerged from the manhole, Layla tugging behind.

"You'll never believe what happened to Lyoko!" gasped Aelita (they had run all the way from the factory to the forest).

* * *

The next day was Sunday and Jeremy hadn't left his room since the attack. His friends knocked the door and came in, Aelita carrying a tray with some food, while Layla kept Odd three feet away from it.

Jeremy paused for a second his work to eat a few things. Once he had finished, he turned to his friends.

"So, anyone suspicious of the attack?" he asked. The gang shook their heads.

"All of the students and teachers thought that it was because of the computers and stuff being old; they're sending new tech equipment next week" Layla explained, feeling happy that the Kadic News was going to have better printers.

"The least that could happen would be that students and teachers are going to complain about the budget cuts" Odd joked. "Unfortunately, though, we have the same dispenser machine"

Jeremy shrugged. "As long as it doesn't spray bad coffee at me, I'm fine" everyone chuckled.

"So" Layla looked at the computer screen. "About the program I sent you…"

Jeremy polished his glasses. "I worked all night, but at last I was able to find a way to materialize the five monsters without them devirtualizing forever if their life points run out". Layla cheered and hugged Odd happily, making the boy blush.

"What about the other data pack?" Aelita asked. Jeremy looked in her emerald eyes.

"Good news" he smiled. "The data pack was about your mother".

Aelita gasped. "My mum?"

Jeremy nodded. "Your father wasn't joking, Aelita: he had managed to localize Anthea and bring her to Lyoko; only…" he sighed. "X.A.N.A. trapped her somewhere between Earth and Lyoko".

Tears of happiness started to form in her eyes. "So…she's alive?"

Jeremy hesitated, rising the suspense, before nodding: "She's alive" he said. "Trapped in a digital prison somewhere in the Digital Sea, but she's alive; alive and the same age as she was when your dad rescued her, the day before…X.A.N.A. was shut down for ten years"

Aelita counted on her fingers: "She was 24 when I was born…27 when she was kidnapped…27 plus ten…she's 37"

She hugged Jeremy: "My mother is alive! She's ten years older since I last saw her, but she's alive! Thank you Jeremy! Remind me to also thank the monsters"

Everyone held the pinkette in a large group hug, happy for her luck: the mother she thought lost was alive, probably waiting for her.

When they broke the hug, Jeremy was beet red and Layla would bet anything Odd was too, for she had hugged him most of all…

"So, that means, you're going to rebuild the Skid?" Ulrich asked.

Jeremy nodded. "It might take weeks, even with Aelita's help, but yes, I'll rebuild the Skid".

* * *

 **End Episode 3**

 **So, if you're asking, yes, I already had the whole "MAraounta" monsters idea around the time this series came into my head (we're talking about 2010!), and don't pay much attention to what Yumi said in the discussion before…**

* * *

 **Yumi: But why can't I tell them about episode 15?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: SPOILERS, that's why!**

 **Yumi: Fine, fine…**

 **Layla: Can't wait 'till we arrive there!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Well, with small ideas between Episodes 8 and 14, I'll need time.**

 **Aelita: That's why you reader can review and tell SecretCodeLyokan if you have any episode plots, X.A.N.A. attacks or episode side stories in mind.**

 **Odd: Remember: SecretCodeLyokan won't steal your ideas, but she'll appreciate your cooperation in telling new X.A.N.A. attacks or side stories.**

 **Aelita: I really hate this corrector! HEY, CORRECTOR, YOU HEAR ME! "AELITA" IS A NAME YOU SHOULD ADD TO YOUR FRAKING DICTIONARY!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Woah, woah…*gets mad* Corrector, "Woah"** _ **is**_ **a word, you know!**

 **Corrector: SECRET CODE YOCAN, IT'S MY JOB TO CORRECT ERRORS!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: That's not my name!**

 **Corrector: Sorry, I auto-correct any word I say.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: That I see…anyway, folks, stay tuned for the next chapter: "Intruders". We're going to discover a few things about Anthea and X.A.N.A.**

 **Layla: And if you still want more answers about Delenda, chapter 26 and 27 (COMING SOON!) will contain those answers…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Spoilers! *stuffs Layla's mouth with a croissant***

 **Aelita: Hey! You stole the line from "Deadly Lovesick"! People could sue you!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Aelita, "Deadly Lovesick" is mine, you know it!**

 **Aelita: *blush* Oh, right…By the way, when are continuing it?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Having a little trouble with filling the lines for the next chapter. To all "Deadly Lovesick" readers, the next chapter will talk about how Odd, Aelita and Jeremy try and find the right person to give Yumi the Positive Push.**

 **Layla: I know who it is…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: No spoilers! By the way, soon I'll overcome my laziness and start writing Fate Of Five, so stay tuned! And…woah! It's already 13:52!**

 **Odd: No, it's 13:53 now!**

 **Aelita: Time sure flies, and so do the holidays.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Anyway, everyone, 'till the next time!**


	5. Ep 4: Intruders

**So, I've got a couple of good news and bad news!**

 **Good News: I'm updating frequently over the holidays!**

 **Bad news: I still might have breaks here and there 'cause of writer's block.**

 **Oh, well, who cares: you're here for the story, right? Onwards!**

* * *

 _ **Review Answers:**_

 _ **Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: Well…spoilers, but yeah, I might add a new type of monster or two.**_

 _ **Josh Xana: Glad you founded**_ _ **the last chapter interesting! Hope you like this one too!**_

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *turns to her good friends and lovebirds* So, who's saying the disclaimer this time?**

 **Lyoko Gang: *points at each other* pick him/her!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *sigs* Alright, let's vote!**

 ***A few screaming and hand-raising minutes later…***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Ok, now the person who got less voted by others stands here and says the disclaimer!**

 **Lyoko Gang: What!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *smirks* I know, I'm evil…**

 **Ulrich: But why?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *frowns* Because I need to be evil sometimes, and what's better than to be evil to your favorite heroes?**

 **Layla: And your OCs…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: And my OCs…Anyway, the loser kindly tells us the disclaimer.**

 ***camera pans to the "loser"***

 **Aelita: *takes a deep breath* SecretCodeLyokandoesntownCodeLyokoorelsethisseasonwouldbeaseriesandIwontbesayingthisdisclaimer!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: See? That wasn't hard! And now *claps hands* places everyone! And you people, open that box! *points at box with something grunting and banging from the inside* I own Layla and the content of this box, by the way…**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 4: Intruders**

* * *

 _A great blast of wind blew her plait loose. She looked around to see where the wind was coming from and saw the ground beneath her was slowly disappearing; she jumped from that place and looked around again. That's when she saw it: a big red and orange wall, gleaming and cracking in the sunlight, curling up in the trees and spreading through the ground, the light it emitted nearly blinding her._

 _She ran towards it, looking in amazement at how large it was; she reached out her gloved fingers to touch it…_

" _Go away!"._

 _She retracted her hand in shock and looked around: a woman dressed in a black suit, orange curls falling on her face, was nearly surrounded by orange weird-looking flames. The words she had shouted were directed to a little girl, who was staring at her mother with shock; actually, the girl must've been Layla's age, but her eyes and her movements suggested otherwise._

" _I want to stay with you!" the girl called. Then, a voice called a name, hers, but she ignored it and looked at the figure in the flames, her eyes holding up tears._

" _You must go! Save our home! You can't let everything die, understand? You must go and protect the others!"_

The others? _Layla asked herself._ What does she mean?

" _Run! Run!" The flames started circling the helpless girl and dug a hole in the ground. She was about to fall…_

* * *

" _Life, Life_

 _Help me follow life wherever it goes"_

Layla woke up from her sleep and looked at the alarm clock that was singing 'Mother Earth' **(A/N: don't own this song by the Subdigitals, even though I recommend it)** ; she sang along, while picking up the things she needed to take a shower: "…Help me follow life wherever it goes; I'm living in a world of dreams, help me follow life wherever it goes; I'm sitting waiting for a means, help me follow life wherever it goes".

She walked to the showers, humming to herself the rest of the song, and was greeted by Aelita.

"How are your dreams?" she asked. Layla frowned.

"The same" she answered, turning the water knobs. "The weird thing is that, every time I'm close to discover who those people are, my memory just clogs and I'm back to square one"

"Well, there are only dreams, right?"

"Yes, but…they seem so…so real, as though they were…"

"Memories?"

"Mh-hm"

"But your memory refuses to confirm it"

"Yeah"

A few minutes of silence passed, in which the girls were enjoying their shower; then, when they finished, they walked towards their rooms.

"By the way" said Aelita, opening the door. "You're a really good singer"

Layla blushed slightly. Aelita looked at her and chuckled.

"What?" the blushing girl stared at the pinkette.

"Nothing; you just reming me of Yumi and Ulrich's faces when Odd or you say something 'embarrassing' about them" she giggled.

"Really?" Layla half-smiled. "Who says I don't look like _you_ _and_ _Jeremy_ when me and Odd tell you something 'embarrassing?" Aelita's cheeks instantly matched her hair color, as she walked quickly in her room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

"…And Raven said to me: 'I think you mistook her for Adele'; and I told her: 'No, I think it was Pauline' well, turns out, it was neither them, nor the others: it was just some normal stranger lady!"

They all laughed at Odd's story, and Layla nearly chocked on her pancakes.

"What about you, Layla? You have any stories to tell us?" Yumi turned to her.

Layla thought about it. "Well, there is one" she said. "You wanna hear it?" They all nodded. She took a deep breath and started:

"Well, I was camping with my friends once; I didn't know all the camping stuff, so the first thing they did was explaining to me how to put on a tent, how to cook, stuff like that" she paused, eating another piece of her pancake.

"Anyway, one of them had this dog, Apple I think his name was, and he was the cutest thing ever; I was playing with him under a tree after my camping lessons, when I threw his ball between the branches and hit a hornet nest" everyone gasped.

"Me and Apple ran; he narked at my friends for help while running and was able to get stung just once, but I wasn't that lucky" she rolled the left sleeve of her jacket to reveal a nasty-looking scar. "I went back to climb on the tree and fetch the ball, but the hornets stung me so much, I fell; that's how I got this".

Her friends stared at the scar, their eyes wide with fear and compassion. "I thought you said you didn't have friends" Odd said.

She thought about it. "Well, I had a couple of friends in my childhood" she explained. "But I kinda forget about them sometimes: it feels like ages since I last saw them".

"Who were they?"

Layla counted on her fingers. "First, there was Erica: she was tough and a good friend to all of us, even though she would eventually react the wrong way in some situations. Then, there was Yan: he was about a year older than us and that's why he felt responsible if something happened; I think Erica had a crush on him" she smiled at the thought of her two friends.

"Then, there was Odette: her parents were obsessed in French culture and 'The Swan Lake', you see; she was funny, but not really smart; her jokes and smiles could cheer up enyone. She was also boy-obsessed" Odd looked at Layla with half a frown: why did she kept saying "was" and "were"?

"There was also Johnny, the most intelligent boy in our school; he'd rather study than go shopping, he'd pick books over girls and always looked at stuff in a scientific way; that is, until our little group pulled him in. Last but least, there was another girl; she was smart, sweet and a good friend to all of us…but I don't remember her name…something with A…" she scratched her head in search of ideas.

"Now that I think of it, there was another boy in our group: Wilfred; shady guy, he was, and Yan's best pal; we sometimes questioned his manners, but he was nice to us most of the time, so we didn't mind". Layla stopped talking. "And that's it, my friends".

They all looked at each other, something about the names of her friends sounding awfully familiar…

"Why did you keep saying 'was'? You act like if you friends are dead" Odd couldn't help it: he wanted to know we she used all those past verbs; he might not be good in English **(A/N: Or French, technically)** , but he did noticed the use of the past simple in her words.

Layla sighed and looked at her empty plate. "Well, I say 'was' because, well, they used to be; isn't the past simple used to express what was?" she brushed off a tear. Odd walked towards her and hugged her.

Layla sighed again. "I don't remember why" she wailed. "And my memory's a little fuzzy about my past, but in one memory they're there and the next they aren't; I vaguely remember a call for help, a cliff, some words…but that's all; I think they…" she broke into silent tears. Odd offered her a handkerchief and she wiped her cheeks.

"Maybe" he said. "Your memory's fuzzy because you bumped your head one too many times" It wasn't a joke, but the others frowned at him anyway. "Maybe, during that day, you bumped your head again and forgot or something…"

Layla hugged him back and cried on his shoulder. **(A/N: She was sitting down, so it was easy for her to do that despite her height; I'm not saying Odd's very smaller than her, for he was partly kneeling down to hug her)** A few people who saw them "Aww"ed, while others were shooting dagger looks at Odd. (probably Layla's secret admirers)

They stayed like this until the bell rang, a girl and a boy wrapped in a tight hug, the boy stroking her hair and the girl hiccupping on his shoulder, holding him tight for comfort and feeling smaller in his arms.

* * *

"Good news, guys!" Jeremy announced at lunchtime. "I worked all day and night, with the help of Aelita and Layla, and I'm happy to announce that the Skid is finished several weeks early!" the four other friends cheered.

I said 'four', because Layla wasn't there: the teacher had sent her to the infirmary because she didn't look healthy after breakfast, and she had been given the day off and had stayed in her room.

"The only problem is that there are only five places and six of you, if we count William…" the dark-haired boy joined them and asked about the cheering. Jeremy explained.

"Well, I've never went to the Digital Sea, so I'm in!" he said. The others knew that, deep down, he was right, so they agreed.

"Ok; who else?" Jeremy asked. The others looked at each other.

"I suggest Layla" Odd piped up. "She needs a distraction".

"And I'm the only one who can pilot the Skid" said Aelita.

Odd, Yumi and Ulrich looked at each other: which of them should go?

Aelita picked up three carrots from her plate and held them in her fist.

"Shortest piece doesn't go" she said to the three.

They each picked a carrot and examined them. One of them sighed in frustration, looking at the slightly smaller piece he/she held.

* * *

The five chosen people waited in front of the scanners. "Ok, I'm starting the procedure" Jeremy said over the loudspeakers.

"One of you cheated!" a frustrated voice said in the background. Yumi smirked.

"Don't be depressed, Odd" Ulrich said. "Next time's your turn" he walked in the scanner.

"Get ready" Jeremy typed, while Odd sulked in a corner. "Transfer Ulrich; Transfer Yumi; Transfer William; Scanner Ulrich; Scanner Yumi; Scanner William; Virtualization!"

The three appeared in Sector 5, waiting patiently for the two girls.

"Don't worry, Odd, I'll bring you back a souvenir!" Layla said aloud, smiling.

"The best souvenir I could have" he responded. "Is you smiling".

Layla blushed, while Jeremy told them to get inside the scanners.

"Let's go, Layla, before Ulrich and William say something stupid and try to devirtualize each other" Aelita joked, knowing how, despite her respect for William, Layla couldn't help but wonder if he was the reason the two lovebirds she 'shipped' kept quarreling; this made the 10th grader feel bad, because she was hostile to William for a reason which didn't even make sense!

The two girls jumped in the scanner, Layla smiling as the doors closed and the familiar sensation crept over her.

"Tranfer Aelita; Transfer Layla; Scanner Aelita; Scanner Layla; Virtualization!"

A blast of wind blew Layla's hair up, as a blinding light forced her eyes closed. The next thing she knew, she was on Lyoko, gloves and whip handle white as snow, and her dress black as soot.

"Ok, now head for the elevator, which is on your right after the entrance" Jeremy said.

"Feeling better, Layla?" William asked the Lyoko Warrior. She nodded, as the door opened.

The five Warriors ran, following Jeremy's direction, until they arrived at the elevator and, afterwards, in the Skid Hangar.

"Ready, everyone?" Jeremy asked.

They ran towards the teleport pods and answered.

"Ok; energize!" the five Lyoko Warriors, looked at each other, as they disappeared in white columns and founded themselves, a few seconds later, in the Skid.

"Cockpit to Navskids, do you read me?" Aelita asked.

"Loud and clear" answered Ulrich. "It's great to be back" he added, looking at the buttons and nun-chucks in front of him.

"How on Earth do you ride these things?" Willkiam couldn't help but ask, staring at the technology in front of him.

Layla laughed from her Navskid. "Instinct, maybe". She grabbed her nun-cucks and swished them a bit.

"Everyone ready?" Aelita asked. "Because I remind you we have to explore the digital Sea and find my mum"

"Me and Layla look ready, I guess" said Yumi. "I don't know the boys…"

"We're ready alright" answered Ulrich. "You can release the Skid, Einstein"

Jeremy started typing.

"Wait! What about learning how to pilot this Nav-thinggy?" William asked, worried, as the Skid started to leave Sector 5.

Laila huffed. "Just use your instinct and pray instead that you won't need to use it!"

"Told ya we should've just left him" mumbled Yumi.

As they went in the Digital Sea, Layla couldn't help but admire its beauty. Even William stopped complaining to stare at it.

"Wow!" he exclaimed.

Layla looked at the buttons in front of her. She saw one which was different from the others: it was a little switch tied to a very little screen and a small keyboard.

"What's this thing in my Navskid, Jeremy?" she asked.

"Huh?" Jeremy didn't understand. "What thing?"

"This keyboard with the screen and the switch…" she explained, pulling the small switch towards her.

Immediately, the screen flickered and a word appeared: "C0D3".

She looked at it and typed the first word that came in mind: "LY0K0".

Immediately, the Skid shined blue for a few seconds and Aelita gasped. "The shields have increased power!".

Yumi looked at the screen in front of her. "My Navskid is stronger!"

"So is mine" Ulrich said.

"Wow!" Layla couldn't help but exclaim.

"What is it Layla?"

"The switch I told you about: I pulled it, 'code' in leet language appeared on the screen and I typed 'Lyoko' in leet" she looked at the screen again. "And the power-up happened"

"How could that be, Jeremy?" asked Aelita.

"Jeremy scratched his head, thoughtfully. "Well, I built the Skid using the old files, and Layla is in the unused Navskid; maybe I entered some kind of code accidentally which developed that switch"

"I don't think it just power-ups" said Layla. "Maybe, if I type a code like XANA in leet, the Skid might destroy itself"

"Me and Jeremy will look at it later" Aelita promised "Now, we must find the Digital Prison"

For several minutes, they navigated in silence, breaking it every once in a while with some random questions, like "How was school?" or "Odd, are you there?"

William was fiddling around with the nun-chucks, when he saw the Sea change a deep crimson.

"Uh, Aelita…please tell me the Digital Sea normally shades to red…" he said, nervously.

Aelita looked and quickly slid her fingers to the release switches. "Get ready to fight" she said. "Release!".

Before William had time to think, he was released from the Skid and nearly hit a glowing pole in front of him.

"What is it William?" Ulrich joked. "You hit a wrong button with that cake knife?"

William chased after Ulrich, with no luck though, as he didn't know how to shoot torpedoes and because the samurai was faster than him.

Their little quarrel was interrupted, however, when a giant web-like thing trapped them both.

"What is this thing?" asked Ulrich, trying to shoot his way out.

Yumi and Layla, who had successfully destroyed a Shark, saw the boys trapped in a weird, starfish-like orange monster.

"What is _that_?" Yumi said, shocked.

Layla shot the weird monster, but managed to only harm it slightly.

"This thing doesn't even have an Eye!" she complained.

"Wrong!" William looked from the glass "I can see the Eye, it's on the tip of its 'tentacles' and it's squashed an the glass and…huh" he stopped when he saw the Eyes turning red. "Uh, girls? The Eyes have turned red; is that a good sign?"

"What is it doing?" Layla asked.

Jeremy clicked on his screens and typed. "I don't know!" he exclaimed. "I think t's trying to weaken the shields of the Navskids, but I'm not that sure"

"What's its weak point?"

"Well...the Eye?"

"Yeah, pity that the Eye IS SQUASHED ON THE GLASS AND IT'S SUCKING THE SHIELD ENERGY!"

"Ok, girls, calm down" Jeremy typed on his keyboard for a while. "Maybe if you could cause a distraction…"

"It's a shame you don't have water monster friends" Yumi sighed to Layla.

"Yeah…wait!" she looked at the keyboard and smiled. "Why do we need monsters friends when we could materialize some right on our side?" she typed 'SH4RKS' on the keyboard. A few Sharks appeared in front of them.

"Get the Sucker!" she ordered. The Sharks obeyed without a word. Soon enough, like she had predicted, the Sucker had to interrupt his operation to fend off the Sharks. The girls used that opportunity to fire the torpedoes and kill the giant starfish.

"Thanks, girls" Ulrich and William said.

"We're a team" said Yumi. "We stick together".

"Back home you go, guys" Layla typed N0SH4RKS and the monsters disappeared.

"That keyboard will be very helpful in the future" said Odd, looking at Jeremy's screen, which had a visual of Layla's keyboard.

The Digital Sea turned blue again and Aelita called back the Navskids.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Well, we've been navigating for hours!"

"Actually, five minutes, William!"

"Well, they were long"

Yumi facepalmed.

Suddenly, Aelita's monitor started beeping. "I think we founded something!" She said.

Beacause Layla wanted to see in front of the Skid, but couldn't because of her Navskid position, she typed 'CPV13W' on the keyboard and and Aelita's visual appeared in front of her.

"It looks like a replika" she said, remembering the story the Lyoko Warriors had told her.

"Weird; we destroyed all of the replikas, right?"

William shrugged. "Maybe you missed one"

Ulrich disagreed. "We destroyed all of them, no exception"

"He's right" Yumi agreed.

"Well, what if you _did?"_ William insisted.

In her cockpit, Aelita remained silent.

"We didn't!" Ulrich was starting to get mad.

"Shut up all of you!" Layla shouted. "It isn't enough the fact that X.A.N.A. survived and Aelita's father sacrified himself for nothing, now you have to fight about something that reminds her? I suggest that you keep your thoughts to yourself, William, and you two should just ignore him!"

Everyone was silent for a few minutes. Then, Aelita arrived at the door of the 'replika' and opened it.

* * *

The Skid founded itself in a closed blue space, similar to Sector 5, ten or twenty towers around them.

"Where are we?" Layla asked.

"It looks like Sector 5; only less bulky" Ulrich said.

"And there's no Digital Sea: the place where the Skid opened disappeared" Yumi pointed at the bottom.

Aelita remebered this place and smiled, as she rose higher to let them admire the space. "Welcome to the Lyoko Reign" she announced.

"The Lyoko what?"

"Lyoko Reign: my father intended to bring me here" Aelita explained. "It's a quiet place which has been used for some of his experiments" she looked at it, sighing. "He must've lived here when he turned off X.A.N.A."

Jeremy, who had been sent a visual, said: "You think Anthea might be here somewhere?"

Aelita shocked her head. "This is a bridge, Jeremy, not a prison" she explained. "From here, you can access to different parts of Lyoko, X.A.N.A.'s Lair and, maybe, the Replikas once"

"X.A.N.A.'s lair?" William shuddered. "Didn't he live in Sector 5?"

"Yes, but his Lair is between Lyoko Reign and Sector 5" the pinkette explained.

Layla and the others stared a few seconds at the blue world before them.

"Maybe we can find some data files about Anthea here" Layla suggested.

"We could try" shrugged Aelita. "Jeremy, could you activate a tower?"

"Here you are" Jeremy typed on his keyboard and activated the closest tower to the Skid. Aelita energized them all out.

* * *

"How long will it take?"

After a bit of wandering around, leaving Ulrich to guard the Skid just in case, the four Lyoko Warriors have founded the entrances of several tunnels, probably leading to places like Lyoko and such. Aelita and Layla were each looking at a screen, sliding through files and stuff.

"I'm sending a few more data to Jeremy, and then we're going to get out of here" Aelita promised.

Layla closed her screen, her job finished, and looked inside one of the tunnels. She gasped. "Jeremy, this tunnel looks like it leads to somewhere on Earth!" She said.

She went in before they could stop her, William following behind as backup.

* * *

"Why did William followed her?" asked Yumi. Aelita shrugged.

"Maybe Ulrich's right: maybe he is in love with Layla" She joked.

"I heard you!" Odd grumbled from the lab.

"He probably followed her to keep her safe" sighed Yumi. "Or maybe it's just his stupid curiosity!"

"Don't be harsh on him" Aelita said to her friend.

Yumi mumbled something, but no one heard what.

* * *

"Jeremy! Can you hear me?" Layla had founded herself with William somewhere in the real world, the snow passing through her boots, as she was still in her Lyoko outfit.

"Where are you guys?" answered the genius's voice.

"I don't know; somewhere in Switzerland, I think" she said.

"How do you know?" William asked her, wide-eyed.

"Intuition" she answered.

"Ok, guys, I figured it out" said Jeremy. "Entering the tunnel, you somehow teleportated in the form of spectres; like when I teleported the others to destroy the Replika Supercomputers"

"Cool!" William slashed his sword around, watching it passing through objects.

"But, we're invisible, untouchable and unhearable" Said Layla, looking as her hand passed through a nearby tree.

"Maybe it's some bug; anyway, I located your position: somewhere near an FBI base in Switzerland"

"You're joking!" Layla exclaimed. "That's where Franz Hopper worked!"

"Then why don't you find put more while you're at it?" Jeremy suggested.

Layla nodded and signed for William to stop fooling around and join her.

* * *

When Aelita and Yumi both heard where their friends were, they were surprised.

"Let's hope they don't get stuck forever!" Aelita said. "And I founded a couple of things about Lyoko Reign, too"

"Ok; meanwhile, I'll try to find a way to transport them back here" said Jeremy

* * *

Layla and William slipped unnoticed by the front door: even though they were spectres, they kept their guard up, just in case.

"Ok, here's the plan: I'll explore this wing, you'll explore the other wing" she said, peeking over a wall to check if the coast was clear and pointing at the areas. William nodded and head for his assigned wing.

Layla walked through a guard and opened a door in front of him

"Jeremy, I'm inside the building!" She said, looking around: it was a long hall with thousands of doors. Exploring would take all day, and she couldn't do it now at this hour.

"I think I might need backup, though: this place looks like a maze!"

"Ok...hey, that's weird..."

"What?"

"Seems like X.A.N.A. has control on part of this base"

"Why?"

"I think Anthea is held up in here somewhere!"

Layla looked around. "But this place isn't in Lyoko, even less in the Digital Sea!"

"Maybe Franz Hopper founded a way to connect the base and Lyoko, then got Anthea out of there!"

Layla looked at the ceiling, as if Jeremy was there: "Einstein, explain yourself: Anthea is here, yes or no?"

Jeremy typed some keys. "Both"

"What do you mean?" Layla growned.

"Anthea has escaped, but she got locked in a parallel space similar to this"

"So, what are we suppose to do?"

"Aelita has finished with the data; I'll bring you and William back and then we'll discuss a plan"

"Fair enough" the girl concluded , as she began to energize back in the Skid.

* * *

Jeremy, how do we get out of here? The tunnel isn't big enough" Aelita said from the Skid.

After she had finished with the data transfer, she and Yumi had head back to the Skid and energized in it with Ulrich, Layla and William passed out in their Navskids.

"I'll open a bigger tunnel; wait a few minutes..." He typed a few keys, and the tunnel on the Skid's right widened.

"This will take you back to Sector 5" he said. Sure enough, the five Warriors founded themselves in the blue sector.

"Ok, now take the Skid to the Hangar, then I'll energize you and back home you go"

* * *

Jeremy had worked all night on the data and was now announcing to the gang during breakfast the results.

"Turns out, I was right: Franz Hopper _did_ bring Anthea back, but it was three days before the Men In Black" he explained.

"That day, something bad had happened; really bad; Anthea was brought in the Lyoko Reign to live while this thing happened, but X.A.N.A. kidnapped her and locked her in a parallel world accessible from the base"

"Why would X.A.N.A. do that?" asked Aelita.

"That thing that happened, guys, made X.A.N.A. really upset; he thought Franz Hopper was to blame, so he locked his wife away from him"

Aelita looked at her plate, sadly.

"Don't worry, Princess, we'll get the Queen back" Odd patted her shoulder.

"It's not that" she said. "It's that I had a dream last night...I actually think it was a memory" she looked at her friends, then looked back in her plate. "Two days before I went in Lyoko, I was in the factory crying; my dad was working at the Supercomputer, and he was frustrated because of something; I was looking at a newspaper lying on the ground and crying because of it" she sighed.

"The newspaper...it talked about the disappearence of five kids, three boys and two girls..." Tears slipped down her cheeks. "I didn't see the surnames, but their names were..." She turned to look at Layla. The names that came out from the pinkette's mouth scared the orange-haired girl so much, she nearly chocked on her croissant:

"Erica S., Yan I., Odette D., Wilfred D. And Johnny B."

* * *

 **Tu-tu-tu-tummmmm!**

 **Cliffy, eh? Is it a coincidence that Layla's friends and the missing kids have the same names? What does Lyoko Reign still hide? What's with Layla's dreams? Do you see similarities between the missing kids and someone else?(duh!)**

 **Ok, I'm gonna be evil and leave you with all these questions for a few chapters! :-D Next episode is dedicated to...na, spoiler!**

 **Anyway, the next episode "Lost and Found" is gonna be probably a mile long, since I thought about making it a two-part, but then I thought: "Na...don't wanna waste episodes!", so it's now an ex-two part and a one-part...confusing? Well, I might change my mind, anyways, and leave you with a cliffy in the first part...hehe!**

 **Here's a short preview:**

 _ **Nothing made sense, now. Nothing. His life had turned blank ever since she was gone.**_

* * *

 _ **"We need someone to risk it!"**_

 _ **"I'll go!"**_

* * *

 ** _"Why do you have to be so difficult?"_**

 ** _"Why do you lie to yourself?"_**

* * *

 ** _"She_ _loves_ _you, you know; that's why she went in your place"_**

 ** _"Then why was our last time on Earth together a pointless fight about her stupid 'just friends' pact?"_**

* * *

 _ **"I know who to bring her back!"**_

* * *

 _ **His eyes filled with tears, as the scanner opened...**_

* * *

 **Yumi: *looks at script* so, I have to do this? Uhm...**

 **Layla: Wow! My role's awesome!**

 **Odd: *nudges Ulrich* looks like this story is someone-centered...**

 **Ulrich: Lay it off!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Ok, you two, go and recite the script with the others. 'Till the next time, everyone!**


	6. Ep 5: Lost and Found

**Back again for more adventures!**

 **Warning: This episode MIGHT cause a few heart attacks and dehydration to a few people...at least, I hope not.**

* * *

 **Great! Over 200 views and 10 reviews! In 5 chapters too! You readers rock!**

 **So, I know you want to know more about the rest of** **the name thing and Lyoko Reign, but I'm gonna leave all hanging and guessing, so...desolée.**

 **Fun fact: do you believe me when I say I came up with the whole "Layla's friends and the Newspaper names" plot just *poof!* like that? Well, I did.**

* * *

 _ **REVIEW ANWERS:**_

 _ **Naruto Skura Uzumaki: I've played some Code Lyoko games, and I was actually wondering about the Skorpion and the Kamikaze...*lighbulb* I've got it!**_

 _ **Josh Xana: Glad you liked the last chapter and I'll check your story as soon as I have some free time.**_

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yumi, be a pal and tell the claimer and disclaimer.**

 **Yumi:** **Why me?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I'd tell ya, but it could be a spoiler to some people...**

 **Yumi: Fine, I get it. *clears throat* This person that calls herself SecretCodeLyokan Doesn't own Code Lyoko OR the right to write that stupid question in "Lyoko Interviews"...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Lay it off, will you!**

 **Yumi: You had no right to write that!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I had, plus your reaction was hilarious! Anyway, please continue!**

 **Yumi: Fine: she doesn't own "Angel Of Mine" by the Subdigitals, which is inappropriate in a way to this fic...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *rolls eyes* Let me put some Subdigitals! It's Code Lyoko, after all! Plus, think of poor Ulrich...**

 **Yumi: *grunts and blushes at the same time* she owns the plot and Layla, and also the fraking contracts which keep us here...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: You'd better watch your words or I might have to remind you you have to practise That Scene...**

 **Yumi: *turns pale* Uh...I have to go *leaves***

 **SecretCodeLyokan** : **Well, onwards! Oh, don't worry: That Scene won't appear in the next few chapters (can't give you a number or it'll be cheating!) and it's appropriate to the K+ here, so no worries.**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 5: Lost And Found**

 **(A/N: I'm kinda excited to write this chapter :-))**

* * *

 _ **Take you far away**_

 _ **It's a funny thing to say**_

 _ **When I've never held your small hand**_

Her head layed on the desk and her long messy hair functioned as a curtain so that no one could see her face: it was a face a poet could have descirbed as "A pinkish valley, with two salty streams running through it, one on the left and one on the right"

She looked at the boy sitting next to her: he was trying to hold the tears, but the way he moved his pen and his hand suggested it was taking a lot of his energy; it was during those moments that the girl couldn't help but admit that he really cared for her friend.

She looked at the classroom for half a second, before retracting her eyes and letting them shed tears once again: the whole world seemed weird to her, unreal really, because there were some facts (such as this one) that you could hide so easily that life keeps going on, trees keep losing leaves, students keep complaining at the blackboard...but, even though it looked easy, those people hiding the fact that a member of the human race had literally fallen forever were struggling to let their lives race 'back to normal' again. And when I say 'struggling', it's ten times more difficult for them, since the body would be never retreaved and they could never say how she died.

It was like a clock, in some way: everything goes well, until one of the gears starts creaking and behaving strangely for some reasons that the owner doesn't know, until the clock-fixer takes a look at it and 'forces' the truth of its behaviour out of the metal piece...what happens next can't really be associated to what would happen to them if everyone knew.

"How do you cope?" she asked shakily the dark-haired boy. He stopped writing and looked at the girl, a bit surprised she had finished the exercise despite her depression; he then looked back at his paper and sighed.

"I convince myself it's a dream" he squeezed his eyes shut, as two tears slipped his face. "That it's a bad nightmare and when I'll wake up, none of it happ...".

"Mr. Dunbar, is there a problem?" Mrs. Meyer asked. He shooked his head, but it's too late: the tears were already rushing down his face. He raised his hand and asked to go to the bathroom.

As soon as the teacher acconsented, he slowly made his way to the door, face down, people whispering when they say his tears. He was probably going to stay there all day and cry like a girl. She knew it.

And to think this chaos started on a clear and peaceful night...

* * *

 _"Hey, Layla!" Yumi barged into her best friend's room and walked towards her bed, where the girl was humming to the music blasting through her headphones._

 _It took a second and a half for the Japanese girl to figure out her next move: she yanked the headphones off the orange-haired girl's head, much to her surprise._

 _"Hey!" Layla tried to get them back, but failed, and Yumi threw them-MP3 and all-on the other bed._

 _"Qu'est-ce que tu veux, Geisha?" The headphones-less girl asked._

 _She showed her a letter. "Gotta give this to Ulrich, but I can't go with curfew coming up..."_

 _Layla took the letter. "Got it: I give it to Ulrich without getting caught while you rush home" she_ _said_ , _smiling._

 _Yumi smiled back. "You're a real friend" she said._

 _The American girl examined the letter as though it was a precious artifact._

 _"So, is this a rare love confession by letter I'm holding, like the fake one he received from Sissi two years ago?" She asked in a French accent._ **(A/N: Well..they are in France, after all, only she did a heavier French accent...got it?)**

 _Yumi blushed. "No; it's just something I'd like to tell him now and my phone's dead and he's probably busy, so talking's out of the question and..."_

 _Layla put her hand on her shoulder. "Relax, Geisha, don't make millions of excuses: je te crois._ **(A/N: Yeah, she's gonna speak a bit of French from time to time; anyway, she said "What do you want, Geisha" [the Geisha part you know, but whatever; and yes, I still identify Yumi as "Geisha"] before and "I believe you" now, FYI)**

 _Now, go home and I'll take care of your letter"._

 _Yumi left the room, tears in her eyes because of the letter._ But it has to be done. _She thought, going down the stairs..._

 _As soon as she was gone, Layla crept in the boy's dormitory and pit the letter on Ulrich's drawer; then she left, quick as lightning, wondering what the letter said._

* * *

 _ **Ride along with you**_

 _ **It'd be a funny thing to do**_

 _ **When I wake up, you'll be here too.**_

Another tear slid down her cheek; it hit her notebook without a sound, without even a faint *plink!*.

She wiped it away, sighing deeply: she'd never knew this could happen to HER so soon...

Layla looked distractedly out of the window and immediately saw him: a small figure, walking out of the Science building, probably kicked out of the class for his behaviour.

She had expected him there. After what happened, this would probably be the side effect...he was too distant for her to see him clearly, but she knew what he was thinking and what he was doing.

She looked sadly as he pelted an innocent tree with a few stones (probably) on the ground and saw his lips move, as if he was mumbling something; he then kicked something else on the ground in despair (or was it frustration?) and sat on the stairs, hands covering his face.

Layla had never saw him like that; then again, she had known all of them for a short time, even though the way everyone talked to her it seemed they had known each other since X.A.N.A. woke up.

Layla looked again at the boy, who was now probably crying silently, maybe even more than her...

* * *

Kicked out of first period. For saying "What!" sharply. Seriously? Ok, not a smart move to say that to your teacher, but still...

 _If only you were here._ He thought.

He put a hand in his pocket jacket and retrieved the letter she had wrote to him; he opened and stroked the perfect cursive written on it, as if he was somehow also stroking her cheek while doing so.

Of course, when he first read it, he made sure it was her handwriting, to avoid further embarassments like last time; but now, the more he read it, the less he wanted it to be from her. And the more he thought about it, the more he wished she was still here so he could apologize.

* * *

 _The first thing he noticed once he jumped into bed after his shower was that piece of paper on his drawer: it was a pale green and it had his name on the envelope; when he recodnized the perfect cursive, he nearly jumped._

 _He grabbed it from the drawer and examined it: the writing looked authentic and he swore he could smell her hand soap on it, mixed with the one of another girl: she probably sent a 'messenger' to deliver it..._

 _Now, the million-dollar question was, what did she wrote to him?_

 _He opened carefully; but he had barely touched the paper inside, when his roommate immediately grabbed the thing and looked at it, smirking._

 _"So, who's this pretty lady sending love letters to you, eh?" Asked Odd seductively, slurring on 'lady' and 'love'._

 _"None of your buisness!" The brunette answered, snatching it back before the blonde-and-purple teen had even finished reading his name on the envelope._

 _Ulrich kicked his shoes off and laid on the bed, his hands raising the open envelope before his eyes._

 _Odd stared at him for a few seconds, then sleep got the better of him and he changed into his pajamas, before laying ln_ his _bed and turning off the light._

 _Ulrich managed to get his coat off, before his hands slipped the letter out and he immediately sank in the words._

 _When he finished, he was...well, shocked, confused, maybe even slightly irritated._ **(A/N: Fooled ya, Ulumi fans!).**

 _He read the letter again and again, praying that his eyes had tricked him or_ _that the faint light from his bedside lamp had mixed up the letters, but, much to his disdain, there was no mistake; he sighed._

Then again, what were you expecting? _His inner voice asked._ A confession?

No. _He answered._ But I wasn't expecting _this._

* * *

 _"Ulrich, I'm really sick of this._

 _Don't ask me of what, you know it: everytime a guy approaches me, there you go and interrogate me on everything he asked me and my answers._

 _I remind you I'm not your girlfriend, not your property and even less my guardian! You're my best friend, I know you care about me, but this has to stop right now! Get it?_

 _We'll talk more in the morning._

 _Good night,_

 _Yumi"_

The brunette read the letter again and tucked it back in his shirt. He put one of his hands in his hair and kicked a stone on the stairs.

"What the heck did you meant by 'this has to stop'?" He asked aloud. "I was just wondering if the boys were asking you out" he tightened the grip in his hair and yelled in frustration

"Oh, Yumi, if I hadn't said that stupid thing, you'd still be here..." He started to cry once again in pain.

"If only I told you before everything, that day at the Desert Sector, in the Boiler Room, before the dance...I should've just told you!" Tears ran down his cheeks, and landed on the ground without a sound, like Layla's.

* * *

 _Classes had ended for the day, and Ulrich hadn't done anything but sulk; sulk because of the letter, sulk because of his grades slipping like usual, sulk because he felt as if his life was slowly falling to pieces..._

 _He spotted Yumi, William and Layla at the park bench. His friends ran to join them, he just walked slowly._

 _"Sorry, William, but we promised Odd..." Layla told the dark-haired boy._

 _He frowned. "Well, I need to go: you've all went when I was Xanafied!"_

 _"I didn't; and Jeremy said he'd rather I stay in my Navskid, since I have some sixth sense when it's about that code panel"_

 _"Well...oh, forget it: fine, I'm signing out!"_

 _Yumi patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, William: next time, I promise you I'll sign out"._

 _Layla and the others smiled at her gesture: it showed that she was starting to trust him a bit more and sweetening her approach. You can guess, though, what Ulrich's reaction was because of that letter: a frown._

 _"Yumi, we need to talk" He spoke up, since they were all hardly noticing his presence._

 _Yumi sighed, knowing where this was going, and stood up, following the brunette to a tree not far away._

 _"I have a bad feeling about this" whispered Layla, as they watched the both of them stare at each other, not knowing where to start._

 _"Maybe it's that letter he received last night..." Odd said._

 _"Dear God, let's hope he didn't make another mistake!" Aelita exclaimed, since she had been told the whole letter story by Yumi (who had heard the whole story by Ulrich)_ **(A/N: isn't weird that, in "Swarming Attack", Ulrich told Yumi by mistake he loved her and, a year later, she _still_ has no clue? I mean, how idiotic is that?)**

 _"Ah, l'amour..." Layla sighed, as everyone turned their heads to avoid the two lovebirds' gaze, apart from her._

 _A few seconds passed, in which the Japanese girl and the German boy just stared at each other in utter silence, not knowing what to say. Then, Ulrich attempted to break the ice by saying the most obvious thing:_

 _"So, about that letter..."_

 _She crossed her arms. "Ulrich, I was serious: you bug me one more time and I'm going to hit you so hard your screams will be heard by my grandparents!"_

 _He sighed. Ok, that wasn't his best move, but at least he got the message. Now...what did he have to say? The truth? "Yumi, I'm sorry, it's just that I'm jealous of all the guys that ask you out necause I love you..." Nope. Not a smart move._

 _What to say? Well, his mouth decided to speak for him before he could stop it..._

* * *

 _ **There's no time now to explain**_

 _ **Oh no**_

 _ **Been sent on a mission**_

 _ **'Cause I've got a vision right now**_

He realized now. He should've apologized and then shut his mouth. He should've. Instead, everything goes out of the window because of his stupid mouth and the stupid part of his brain which really like to see him suffer...

* * *

 _"Listen, I'm sorry, it's just..._ _I was worried you were going to go out with the wrong kind of guys..."_

 _When he realized, by her red face, what he had said had pressed the wrong button, it was too late..._

 _"With the wrong kind of giys, huh?" She stared at him, the look in her eyes making him feel smaller._

 _"_ _Well, uh..."_

 _"Let me translate your message:_ _you think I'm a brainless girl who would go out with the first person I see? You think I don't know how to take care of myself?" Her voice was getting louder and angrier._

 _"I'm just concerned about you, ok?" He, too, was starting to yell. "I'm your friend, Yumi..."_

 _"Exactly!" She looked in his chocolate eyes with a stern look. "You're not my father, or my older brother or my boyfriend! Or any person who has any authority on me! And I'm not a damsel in distress! I know how to take care of myself!"_

 _"Well, then, I'm just a friend to you, huh?" Ulrich crossed his arms._

 _She tapped his chest with her index finger. "Didn't I made myself clear last time?" She snapped._

 _"Maybe you made yourself too clear, even to yourself!"_

 _She turned around. "Just shut up, will you?"_

 _"Then tell me: what do you think of me? And be honest"_

 _That was the same thing he asked her when they had the fight about Emily. Yumi couldn't help but notice that detail. She held back tears and murmured:_

 _"As a friend...just as a friend; but, now, I don't even think we should be friends anymore!" She ran away._

 _Layla, who had heard everything, facepalmed._

What the Hell, Yumi? _She thought._ What were you thinking, Ulrich?

 _As Ulrich was walking back to the bench, a beep erupted from Jeremy's laptop. He opened it and sighed._

 _"Bad news, guys" he said. "X.A.N.A.'s accessed to Lyoko Reign and is trying to drain its power"_

 _"How do you know?" Asked Odd._

 _"I implanted a security alarm of some sort last night" the genius explained._

* * *

The bell rang. Ulrich stood up from the staircase and dried his tears, as students poured from the science building.

* * *

Layla, from her classroom, stood up and walked towards the courtyard, drying up the streams on her face as she walked out.

 _I need to talk to him._ She thought. _I probably won't do much, but it's worth a try._

* * *

Ulrich walked away from the Science building and looked at the watch on his phone: five minutes until next period. He sighed and walked away, thinking of yesterday's X.A.N.A. attack, his eyes Speouting new tears.

* * *

 _"What's X.A.N.A.'s plan?" Asked Aelita._

 _"He has drained half of Lyoko Reign's power to create something" explained Jeremy._

 _Everyone minus him and William were in the Skid, navigating the Digital Sea in utter silence, Ulrich and Yumi probably sulking in their Navskids._

 _Just as Layla was about to brake the ice, the Sea turned bright red._

 _"I'm releasing you!" The pinkette announced. "And beware of the Suckers!"_

 _The four Navskids saw the Sharks approaching them._

 _"Ok; Layla, Yumi and Ulrich will fend off the Sharks; I'll stay and protect Aelita" Odd said._

 _"Are you out of your mind!" The three of them shouted._

 _"What! Now you don't want to pair up with me?" Yumi and Ulrich shouted at the same time at each other._

 _"Enough!" Layla yelled at them. "You can a_ _rgue later about your senseless problems; right now, we have some monsters to fight!"_

* * *

Layla plugged her headphones on her MP3 and closed her eyes, as "Angel of mine" started playing.

 ** _Little Angel, beamin' down your smile_**

 _ **Little Angel, could it be a sign?**_

 _ **Little Angel, you're my beauty queen**_

 _ **Can you brake the code and get us out of here?**_

"Yumi..." She murmured, opening her eyes and looking at a distressed Ulrich walking sadly towards his next class. "If only you were here..."

 _ **Little Angel, trapped inside this dream**_

 _ **Little Angel, you're my precious thing**_

 _ **Little Angel, keep me from the pain**_

 _ **Can you come to Earth before I go insane?**_

 _ **Angel of mine!**_

 _ **Angel of mine!**_

 _ **Angel of mine!**_

* * *

 _After a few minutes of chasing Sharks around and destroying them, Yumi, Ulrich and Layla returned to the Skid._

 _"All clear, Princess!" Announced Layla, calling back two Sharks she had materialized._

 _Aelita nodded. "Let's go to Lyoko Reign" she recovered the Navskids and she started moving again towards their destination._

 _"So, what's the big deal with you two?" Asked Odd. "You haven't spoke to each other since we called you to the Factory; well, apart from when I told you to chase the Sharks..."_

 _"There's nothing wrong with me!" Snapped Yumi._

 _"You're saying I'm the braindead here?" Ulrich retorted, angrily._

 _"Well..."_

 _"If you just let me explain..."_

 _"What? That you don't trust me?"_

 _Layla was getting more annoyed by the minute..._

 _"Can't you two just kiss and make up already?" She spat._

 _Odd chuckled. "They'd_ love _to do_ that _!"_

 _"Shut up, Odd!" Both teens yelled at him. Layla just grunted in frustration_

 _"Ladies, gentleman, Odd, we've reached our destination!"_

 _Layla thanked the Lord that Aelita had interrupted them right before this argument could go any further._

 _"Opening the entrance..." the pinkette put her hand on the pad, which scanned her handprint and opened Lyoko Reign's "door"._

 _When they arised from the Sea, they got the shock of their lives._

 _"Jeremy!" Aelita gasped. "Lyoko Reign is full of holes! If I try to get to the draining tower and deactivate it, I might fall in the Digital Sea!"_

* * *

Layla couldn't stop thinking of the brunette, crushed beyond repair. She was halfway towards her class when she made up her mind and headed to another. Like she was expecting, sitting near the closed door, was the boy she was looking for; in his handswas a familiar object

"Ulrich?" She nearly whispered, but was interrupted by another voice calling his name.

* * *

 _"Guys, I think I know what X.A.N.A.'s doing!" Jeremy said to the four Lyoko Warrirs. "He's trying to build a backup power source"_

 _"Not fair" Odd complained. "We hardly know where the original source is, and now he's creating a copy?"_

 _"Odd, focus on something more important!" Aelita said. "Think about it: if Lyoko Reign gets destroyed, the connection of Lyoko's Sectors will be too"_

 _"Meaning?"_

 _"If we need to go to another Sector while being on another, there's no way we can use the Way Tower to go there or the Transporter to go to Sector 5; X.A.N.A. would probably use this weakness to his advantage"_

 _"I think the tower connection would blow up, too!" Added Layla. "The screen I checked last time said something about those towers being the Lyoko Towers' energy source; though I highly doubt X.A.N.A. would destroy them..."_

 _"But he could programme other towers from the data!" Yum realized. "Towers that wouldn't deactivate by the Code Lyoko!"_

 _"What about that tunnel leading to Switzerland?" William said from the Lab. "That gets destroyed as well!"_

 _"We have to stop him!" Aelita said. "I've located the tower, but I need someone as backup..."_

 _"I'll do it!"_

 _"No, I'll do it!"_

 _Both Yumi and Ulrich looked at each other, startled._

 _"Ulrich, someone has to make this sacrifice..."_

 _"That one's me!"_

 _"But why you?"_

 _"Because..." He paused for a few seconds. "Because it was my fault we even fought in the first place; it's my fault you got envolved in all of this; it's my fault you got hurt many times..."_

 _"Ulrich, it wasn't alway..."_

 _"It was my fault I made you mad several times, it was my fault I forgot your birthday..."_

 _Yumi thightened her grip on the nun-chuks._

 _"Ulrich..."_

 _Yumi didn't know what to say; but was there really something to say? Something that will change his mind?_

 _No: if there's something she knew about him, it was that he was as stubborn as her, sometimes; and this was one of those times._

 _She sighed. "Alright; but I want Aelita to energize everyone out"_

 _He smiled. "I knew you'd understand"_

 _She smiled back._ And I knew you would say that.

* * *

Ulrich was hiding his face in his knees, crying quietly, so that the students passing by wouldn't notice him: if there was something he hated, it was the gossip about him, and he didn't want rumors to start about his crying.

He sat up again and dried his eyes, looking at his bag; he grabbed and dug through it, until he finded what he was looking for; a ray of light coming from a nearby window shined on the metal object in his hand, making it look prettier than it originally was.

 _Hope_. There was only one meaning for that light.

He opened and closed the precious treasure he held, smiling sadly at it. _Hope that she's still out there.._. _alive._

"Ulrich Dear!" A high-pitched voice chirruped.

He frowned, when he saw the person whose voice belonged to.

"Go away, Sissi!" He snarled.

"Why? Did Yumi finally left you?" She looked around and dramatically held a hand over her head. "Oh, my dear Ulrich, I told you she wasn't right for you"

He stood up, looking in her eyes. "Don't say another word! Don't even talk about her like that!" He opened the object in his hand.

The black-haired Miss Perfect smirked at the object. "And what is that ugly metal thinggy? A gift from that freak? Wow, she has no taste at all..."

Her words were cut short when he swished the 'thinggy' and it came spinning towards her. Sissi screamed and ducked just in time, while Ulrich recovered his most precious possession once it came back to him.

Layla had watched the scene, and was both shocked and happy of what happened to the spoiled girl. She ran towards the brunette, holding down his hands to avoid him from throwing the 'metal thinggy' again, while Sissi and her cronies ran in class.

"We need to talk, Ulrich!" She said, sternly. "This is getting out of control!"

* * *

 ** _In the corner of my eye_**

 ** _You were shining way up high_**

 ** _Your reflection makes me feel weak_**

 _Yumi watched as the boy she loved and hated and her best friend ran towards a red tower nearby, jumping and avoiding voids in the ground separating them from their objective, her heart leaping into her throat everytime Ulrich seemed to miss his footing._

 _"Ne t'inquiète pas" Layla patted her shoulder. "Ulrich has dealed with worse"_

 _She smiled, but it didn't l_ _ast long: a scream reached her ears._

 _"Ulrich!"_

 _"Go! Go, Aelita!"_

 _He had pushed the pinkette just as another piece of flooring fell beneath their feet; he had managed to grab the edge of the next pannel just in time, but who knows how much he would last._

 _Yumi ran towards him, grabbing his free hand and pulling him back to land._

 _"Now I'm the one saving you" she joked._

 _"Thanks"_

 _"That's what best friends are for" she shrugged, but those words hurt her inside._

 _Suddenly, the ground under them shook and it started to fall..._

 _Ulrich felt himself being pushed and the tassel fell, just as Aelita entered the tower._

 _"Yumi!"_

 _ **Tryin' oh so hard**_

 _ **To keep the memory apart**_

 _ **Then I'll wake up and you'll be free**_

 _He looked at the edge, sighing in relief when he saw his crush holding on with one hand._

 _"Yumi, take my hand!" he yelled over the earthquake noise. She reached for the brunette's hand, and he pulled her up, even though the roof seemed to trying to squash her._

 _Before everyone knew it, she was avoiding every single piece of the blue floorthat seemed determined to fall with her on it._

 _"Aelita; hurry up! Yumi, hold on!" William was screaming in Jeremy's microphone, holding his head with both hands._

 _"Jeremy, I..." Aelita looked at the screen in front of her. "It won't work; there's a bug or something in the Digital Sea, I can't..."_

 _"AELITA, TRY!"_

 _She lowered her head. "I repeat: there's a bug in the Digital Sea; someone needs to go to the Skid and..."_

 _"Aelita!" Yumi had heard everything. "The Skid could crumble at any moment with us in it in the Digital Sea, if something hits it! We can't risk losing four lives!"_

 _Suddenly, Layla had a vision. When it ended, she fell on her knees. Odd helped her up._

 _"Yumi, don't!" She screamed. "It's not worth it! Let me go in your place!"_

 _"What do you mean?" Odd asked the hyperactive girl, holding her by the waist._

 _Layla looked at him, then at the ground. "I had a vision..." She murmured. "She's going to jump..."_

 _ **There's no time now, to explain**_

 _ **Oh no**_

 _ **Been sent on a mission**_

 _ **'Cause I got a vision right now**_

 _Ulrich looked at the Japanese girl with wide eyes: "You're going to WHAT!"_

 _She looked at him, sadly: "It's for the world's safety..."_

 _"What about your parents, and Hiroki, and the others, and...me?"_

Did he actually say that? _Her eyes lit up at his words._

 _"You need Aelita and I can't risk losing both you and Odd; and Layla doesn't need to join her friends real soon..."_

 _Layla was starting to cry._ **(A/N: since we're on Lyoko, there were no tears)** _"Don't!" She screamed. "I lost my first best friends; I'm not losing you too!"_

 _Yumi looked at the hybrid and the orange-haired girl._

 _"I'll take the Navskid, if you want..." She said, sadly. "But you know it won't change anything: X.A.N.A. is trying to destroy this place and I'll probably get crushed anyway in the Sea"._

 _Layla cried on Odd's shoulder, while he patted her back with his long tail as best as he could and gave the older girl a sad smile._

 _"Jeremy, you're smart, you'll figure out something, I'm sure"_

 _Jeremy brushed his tears away. William slammed his fist on one of the arms of the chair._

 _"Yumi! You just can't..."_

 _"I made up my mind!" She yelled back. "Sometimes, you need to make sacrifices; William, never forget me, always remember your friend" William sat in a corner and cried quietly._

 _Yumi was about to walk to the edge, when a hand caught her arm._

 _"Yumi, please don't go!"_

 _ **Little Angel, beamin' down your smile**_

 _ **Little Angel, could it be a sign?**_

 _ **Little Angel, you're my beauty queen**_

 _ **Can you break the code and get us out of here?**_

 _She gently pulled her arm free. "Ulrich" she smiled sadly. "Never forget me, understand?" She handed him one of her fans. "Never!"_

 _He took it and held it tightly in one hand, the whole Reign crumbling in the background._

 _She wanted to tell him. He wanted to tell her. They both wanted to confess, to hug, to kiss, to tell each other the truth about their feelings...but time was running out, and Yumi thought Ulrich would never cope with that thought in his head._

 _She kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Goodbye, Ulrich" she said softly. He held her hand and stroked her cheek gently, before she went towards the edge..._

 _She sighed, imagining the disturbed Digital Sea was the Swimming Pool, imagining she was on the trampoline...she took a deep breath, raised her arms to form a 'T' with her body, and jumped._

* * *

 _Ulrich burst out of the scanner, rushing towards each and every one of them as they opened: Layla, Odd, Aelita came out...Yumi didn't._

 _He awaited, tears in his eyes, as his scanner opened once again...the smoke disappeared, revealing nothing but a metal object on the ground._

 _He picked up the fan, his hands trembling as he opened and closed it, quickly. Then, as Jeremy was asking if the extra materialization worked, the brunette burst into tears, clutching the fan tightly._

 _ **Little Angel, trapped inside this dream**_

 _ **Little Angel, you're my precious thing**_

 _ **Little Angel, keep me from the pain**_

 _ **Can you get to Earth before I go insane?**_

 _ **Angel of mine**_

 _ **Angel of mine**_

 _ **Angel of mine, mine, mine**_

 _ **Oh, little angel...**_

* * *

Layla brought Ulrich into the forest and made him sit under the tree.

"Listen, Ulrich, I know you're heartbroken-and don't you dare deny it!-over Yumi, but you should keep your anger in control: she would've never wanted you to slice Sissi with her fan; she gave it to you for another reason"

He looked down at the fan, still in his hand. "It's just...everything seems so fake" he said. "Everyone thinks she's on a school trip or on a family trip, and Jeremy tries to bring her back, but there's no way!" He yelled those last words out loud.

Layla looked at him, pity and sadness flowing inside her.

"Ulrich" she sat near him. "Yumi loves you; that's why she gave her the fan and she jumped: to save you and humanity, to make sure you never forget her"

Unfortunately, he wasn't convinced. "Then why was her last moment on Earth a stupid quarrel because of our stupid 'just friends' pact?"

Layla hesitated for a second, before she looked in his chocolate eyes.

"You didn't know she would jump; you both didn't expect it to be your last argument on Earth; it's simple and there's nothing to be ashamed of" she held his hand and squeezed it. **(A/N: AS A FRIEND, REMEMBER THE PAIRING. No UxOC in this story!)**

"She made her own choice to jump; you would've done the same for her"

"Yes, but that doesn't change the fact that she'll never come back!" He stood up and walked away, tears glimmering in his closed eyes.

It was when Layla stood up too that it came to her: a short vision filled her memory, showing her a screen; and on that screen there were...

"Ulrich!" She held a hand to her head and the other she reached for the tree, to try and stop her head from spinning. "I-I-I think I know how to bring her back!"

Ulrich stopped walking and turned around.

"You're serious?" He asked, his voice filled with hope and happiness.

She smiled weakly. "There's a data pack, in Sector 5: it has all the records of the Digital Sea; if I could just get the right data, maybe I could get your lover girl back" he gently punched her shoulder when she said the last words.

"Stop saying that!" He joked. She laughed.

"Tell Jeremy; we'll all go to the factory later" she said.

* * *

After school, everyone gathered around the manhole, where Layla was waiting.

"You're serious?" Jeremy asked her, wide-eyed. She nodded, smiling.

"Here's the plan: Ulrich and I will go to Sector 5-don't worry, Jeremy, Aelita taught me how to recodnize Lyoko files last time-and Aelita, Odd and William will stay in a Sector: something tells me X.A.N.A. is probably going to attack". Everyone nodded and went down the manhole.

* * *

Layla and Ulrich landed in Sector 5 and waited for the door to open. The girl could see he was very impatient.

"Calm down!" She said. "You look like as if a bomb was going to explode at any second!"

"It might explode if I'm not in the Arena in less than five seconds" he joked.

Finally, the door opened and the two of them ran through the corridor to catch th elevator.

* * *

"Uh, guys?" Jeremy had the three Lyoko Warriors' attention. "Layla was right: X.A.N.A. activated a tower in the Desert Sector"

"Well, luckily, we're here" said Aelita.

"It's 19 degrees west and 50 degrees north"

"Follow me, boys"

They ran to the tower, guarded by two Megatanks and a Krabe. **(A/N:** **Does it sound familiar? *wink wink*)**

"Princess, take cover and shoot Energy Fields when necessary; me and William will clear the path for you" the hybrid told the pinkette.

She nodded and watched as Odd shot the Krabe and William Supersmoked to a Megatank.

* * *

"Layla, have you finished?" Ulrich tapped his foot, impatiently.

"Relax, it's gonna take a while: you think X.A.N.A. labels these things?" She said back, sliding through files and data packs.

Ulrich looked at three Mantas, who were starting to hatch. "Jeremy, could I have a boat to fish with?"

"No can do: Layla's got the commands, remember?"

"Right!"

The Mantas hatched and immediately started shooting at the orange-haired Warrior. Ulrich blocked several lasers with his katanas.

"I'm nearly done..." she said. "Keep blocking the lasers"

"What...do...you...think...I'm...doing...now?" He asked, sarcastically, blocking more lasers.

* * *

"AGAIN!"

Ten weird little Kankrelats had materialized in front of the tower.

"Why 'again'? " Asked Aelita, peeking from the rock she was hiding from.

"This is the fifth time those thinggies appear" said Odd, firing a Laser Arrow.

"Well, why don't we just run past them?" Suggested William, attempting this task himself.

Unfortunately for him, the weird Kankrelats exploded the moment he was in the middle of them, sending him back to the scanner immediately.

* * *

"Argh!" He grunted, reaching for the elevator button.

* * *

"Aelita, run!" Odd looked at the pinkette. "Go to the tower, before those Kamikaze appear again!"

Aelita nodded and ran to the tower; she rose to the upper platform and put her hand on the appearing screen.

AELITA

CODE LYOKO

"Tower deactivated!" She announced.

"Let's hope X.A.N.A. didn't do anything dangerous" said Odd as he materialized back in the scanner.

* * *

"Jeremy!" Layla exclaimed. "I found it! I'm sending you the data now!"

"Ok, guys" Jeremy said, opening the file Layla had sent him, while checking the TV News. "The tower's deactivated and I'm checking the news for anything suspicious, while you get back to Earth..."

Ulrich cleared his throat.

"Yeah, Ulrich, I'll analyze the data too" the genius promised, smiling.

* * *

Everything was ok: X.A.N.A. hadn't caused anything that required a Return To The Past, Jeremy was able to analyze the data and, hopefully, retrieve Yumi, so that he could also cancel all the wall of lies the group had built to mask her abscence.

They waited in front of the scanner, Ulrich in front of them to greet her first...the scanner opened...and a fainted Yumi fell from it.

Ulrich quickly caught her before she hit the ground and kneeled down gently, with her body resting on his lap and an arm holding her head up.

Everyone held their breath...and Yumi fluttered her eyes opened!

You can guess everyone's reaction: they all cheered, Aelita hugged Jeremy, Layla hugged Odd, tears in her eyes, William jumped high in the air...And Ulrich...

Ulrich was crying from happiness; the Japanese girl lying on his lap looked both confused and happy, but that didn't matter much: it mattered that she was alive, unhurt, and in his arms...She looked at him and smiled, tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

It was at that moment that Ulrich wanted to tell her; he wanted to say that he loved her, that he wanted her to be his girlfriend, that he would be happy if she somehow returned those feelings...Yumi wanted that too, she was waiting...

But what's the use of waiting now, and on this moment of happiness? All that mattered, as I said before, was that she was here; he wouldn't dare spoil that moment going straight to the facts and, deep down, she knew it too; she had waited until then, she could still wait.

Even though he didn't tell her, Ulrich did the next best thing: he hugged her tightly, as a friend, as a crush, as an admirer, as a brother...

She didn't know the precise reason he had hugged her, but she hugged him back, as tight as she could, both of them crying of happiness.

Was she really his friend? Or was he in love with her? They didn't care: all they cared was that they were together again, in each others' arms, and whatever their feelings for each other were, they would still hug.

* * *

 **Hands up those who cried!**

 **Layla/Aelita: *raise hand***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: There, there...**

 **Layla: It was so...*breaks into sobs***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Ok, ok...now, in the next chapter...uh, what was the next chapter?**

 **Aelira: *blows nose* I-I don't remember...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Oh, well, anyway I wanted to give big news to everyone: I live in Italy and, after three long years-guess what?-CODE LYOKO'S BACK ON TV!**

 **Lyoko Gang: *high-fives* Hooray!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yeah, my prayers have been heard and, on Monday, CODE LYOKO MARATHON! Expect some mega updates, pobably due to my inspiration boost and my happiness!**

 **Lyoko Gang: Evviva! Si ritorna in Italia dai nostri fan!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Special thanks to Rai Gulp! *hugs him* I forgive you!**

 **Rai Gulp: Sorry, SecretCodeLyokan, for breaking your heart three years ago...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: You'd better be! So, now, 'till the next episode! Ciao a tutti!**

 **Rai Gulp/Lyoko Gang: Ciao! A presto!**


	7. Ep 6: Doppëlclone

**Ok, I'm late for the update because I had a few disagreements about this episode: the attack of the original plot was fine, but the side story was kinda stupid, so I scratched it; though, I might still use the idea in the future. Anyway, four days of whining (for my stupid laziness) and twenty headaches (because of trying to come up with ideas) later, I thought, why not, let's put the episode that was inspired by Naruto Sakura Uzumaki's idea. Get ready for a bit of confusion!**

* * *

 _ **Review answers:**_

 _ **Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: I listened to the whole Subdigitals album and I'll try to include "Planet Net" and "World with my eyes" in the episodes.**_

 _ **Josh Xana: I know, it was "Cruel Dilemma"; you wanna know a fun fact? I never saw the first season of Code Lyoko before my parents bought the discs, and "Lost and Found" was an idea I came up with a year before I had that episode on DVD! So, basically, you might say that idea came from "Cruel Dilemma" without me even knowing it; cool, huh?**_

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Odd, say the disclaimer.**

 **Odd: SecretCodeLyokan will never own Code Lyoko not even if she prayed; she owns Layla and the story's misteries.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *looks at the rest of the gang* see? It wasn't that hard!**

 **Lyoko Gang: Humph!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: On with the story!**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 6: Doppëlclone**

* * *

Layla and the others were waiting for Yumi and William on a bench near the Administration Building, since the two had to finish their school project before tomorrow.

Jeremy was talking to Aelita about some techno-babble **(A/N: I love that word :-D)** while Ulrich finished his history essay two days early: in the first few weeks of the second semester, he had managed to keep his 80-85 average that he had during the time X.A.N.A. was dead, but recently, mostly because of his nightmares of Yumi jumping in the Digital Sea, which left him with insomnia and a hard time concentrating on the real world, he was starting to slowly slip to 76. The best thing he could do was doing his homework two or three days before the deadline and nightfall, so he could keep up his grades.

"Odd, quit it with your DS beeps!" The brunette yelled at his roommate, who was playing Mario Kart with Layla at full volume.

"Layla's playing too!" Odd complained.

"But she's turned her volume down!"

Odd was about to protest, when another beeping sound came from his DS, announcing him that he had arrived 5th...again.

"Ouais! J'ai gagné!" **(A/N: Yes! I won!)** Yelled the orange-haired teen, dancing around in victory and waving her DS under her opponent's eyes, which showed the rankings with her name on top.

"It's not fair! You cheated!" the hybrid complained.

Layla tapped his nose with her index finger. "'Falling five times in the lava' isn't cheating, mon amour; it's bad coordination"

Odd blushed deep red: did she just called him 'my love'?

Layla went towards the dispenser machine to get a drink. Once she was out of earshot, Ulrich, who had noticed Odd's blush, winked.

"Looks like our hybrid's in love with the Tamer!"

"I'm not!" Odd snapped.

Aelita smriked. "Why don't you ask her out?"

"Because I don't love her! At least, not in that way..."

Jeremy and Aelita rolled their eyes. _Here's another one..._

The hybrid blushed again. "Am...am I that obvious?"

"Yep; as Ulrich is with Yumi"

"Hey!"

"Don't you dare deny it, my dear samurai!"

"Whatever"

Odd just lowered his head. "But she's got all the kids in school after her! I really doubt she'd choose me..."

Aelita rolled her eyes. "Odd, come on, I see the way she loooks at you, the way you two fight in perfect syinchronization, the way you hesitate every time she tries and fend off possessed people by X.A.N.A. with her bolts and tells you not to worry...come on, it's as clear as a crystal, even clearer that Ulrich and Yumi's relationship!" ("Stop using me and Yumi as a paragon! We're just friends, anyway!" "And Bloks might fly!")

Odd sighed and looked at the orange-haired beauty coming back towards them. "Alright" he said. "Here I go..."

"Hey!" William and Yumi walked towards them. "Anything new?"

"Yeah: Odd was about to ask Layla out just when you arrived and Jeremy had found out more about those missing kids and Layla's avatar" answered Ulrich.

Layla blushed and avoided eye contact with Odd, while he slumped on the bench in utter embarassment.

"So, what's the news?" Asked William. Jeremy pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"Well, to make things simple, I went on the Internet and searched for newspapers dated ten years ago; turns out, five kids _did_ disappear on the 4th of June, 1994"

"Who are they?"

Jeremy shook his head. "X.A.N.A. bugged the page; I couldn't find out anymore, apart from the fact that they were last seen with Franz Hopper's daughter and another girl"

"The funny thing" Aelita continued. "Is that I don't remember having six friends apart from all of you; I think that Daddy wanted me to forget some things from my past"

Layla nodded. "She told us she doesn't remember what happened on Lyoko or the real world on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th of June and X.A.N.A. probably doesn't want us to find out"

"This is getting weirder and weider" Yumi said, thoughtfully. "Five disappearing kids linked to Aelita, a misterious girl, something or someone named Delenda, Aelita's memory not fully restored as we thought it would be, something bad happening on Lyoko that made X.A.N.A. upset, Layla's nightmares about a woman and a girl...How can we find a connection to all of this?"

Jeremy was about to answer, when a girl with a bruised cheek came running towards William.

"How dare you slap me!" She said, slapping the startled boy back.

"Huh?" He looked at the others. "What was she talking about?"

"William, why are you slapping girls?" Aelita asked.

"I didn't! I was working with Yumi all this time! You know it too, Yumi, go and tell her"

"What about your 'bathroom break' that was five minutes long?" The Japanese girl asked him, suspiciously.

"I already told you, I blacked out!"

"Yeah, right; I'd rather believe that you had a serious disagreement with today's breakfast"

Layla looked behind William's shoulders. "Uh, William...if I was you, I'd probably run if I'd want to live!"

William looked behind him to see what the Tamer meant, and quickly rocketed towards the nearest boy bathroom before ten really cross girls could catch him. The others followed him, to keep on eye on him, but lost track of him every tem minutes.

* * *

"Why did you do those things, William?"

Layla was in William's room, where he had managed to hide from that angry crowd; she was questioning him, while the others were fending off his chasers.

"I swear, I didn't do anything!"

Wiliam sat on the bed, grasping his hair with both hands in utter desperation.

"Then how come you're chased by ten girls claiming you slapped them, three boys claiming you kissed their girlfriends-mind you, these girlfriends are angry with you, too-, Ulrich and Yumi because you tried to kiss her, and Ms. Meyer because you vandalized the blackboard?" Layla asked the scared boy.

"I told you, I haven't got any idea what they're talking about! I don't know what happened!"

Layla sighed and dug up from her bag a notebook. "Ok, I asked every single person who was chasing you what happened; here's what you sopposely did:"

* * *

 _Heidi and nine other girls:_

 _I was minding my own buisness when I saw William coming towards me; we talked for a bit and then he said I was a very stupid and mean person and slapped me. It didn't hurt much, but I was very mad!_

 _Theo:_

 _Until recently, I was going out with Emily; she's a great girl, and helps me with school, too. I was walking with my friends towards the cafeteria when I saw William kissing her. Even though she swore he just came out of the blue and kissed her, I'm mad at both of them, especially him, because me and her quarreled and broke up._

 _Emily:_

 _He walked towards me and kissed me. End of story. Thanks to him, I broke up with Theo; I'll never forgive William for that! He might be handsome, but he's such a dork sometimes!_

* * *

"She said 'handsome'?" William asked with a smile. Layla hit him hard on the head with her pencil.

"Concentrate!" She said, and continued reading.

* * *

 _Christopher:_

 _Me and Anaïs were talking, when William came and asked Anaïs out._ _She said no, but he insisted, and when she finally agreed to drive him away, he told her he was happy she was leaving me and kissed her! I tried to slap him, but I failed, so I chased him all over the school until I lost him; that's when I saw him running from a crowd of girls._

 _Anaïs:_

 _What a weirdo! Though he is a good kisser, I must say._

* * *

William smirked. "I never kissed her, but I like the compliment"

Layla facepalmed. _No wonder he got kicked out of his school..._

She read the next POV. William was really surprised when she told him the name of the third angry boyfriend _._

* * *

 _Odd:_

 _Yesterday, I broke up with Geraldine because she never turned up early for our dates; when William was being chased, we lost suddenly track of him, so we split to search for him._

 _I was the first to find him: I saw him stroking my ex's cheek and kissing her, saying he was happy she had broken up with the 'scrawny guy'; that's when I understood everything. I can't believe she'd cheat me with William and he didn't even tell me! What kind of friend he is?_

 _Geraldine:_

 _Now everyone thinks I'm a cheater! Thanks William! Just wait 'till I get my hands on you..._

* * *

William sighed: now he understood why Odd had joined the chase.

"Ready for Yumi's POV?" The Tamer asked. He slowly nodded.

 _This, after all, couldn't get any worse..._

* * *

 _Yumi:_

 _Me and Ulrich were searching for William when we lost him; we founded him coming towards us, panting a bit._

 _"You ok?" Asked Ulrich_

 _"I am when I see Yumi" he said, in a flirty kind of way._

 _And it didn't stop there; he kept flirting and Ulrich was pretty annoyed._

 _At first, his flirting was kinda, well, cute._

* * *

William smiled. "It was?"

Layla looked at him, suspiciously. "You're saying you did it?"

"No, but if she thought that, I'd like to thank my 'twin'"

Layla looked at the next line and smirked evilly. "Don't count your chikens before they hatch, William..."

* * *

 _Then, it turned into seducing and it was creepy and annoying._

* * *

William humphed several times.

"Wanna become a camel?"

"No..."

"Then quit sulking and listen!"

* * *

 _I was trying to push him away, when he grabbed my arms and pushed me closer to him: that creep was trying to kiss me! Had it not been for Ulrich, who punched him, he would have. We ran away, and he came back to us, running, out of breath. We took our chance and kicked him 'till he cried like a girl._

 _Ulrich:_

 _I agree with Yumi's version; though the William we kicked looked pretty innocent._

 _Ms. Meyer:_

 _I walked in and he was vandalizing the blackboard; then, he nearly ran into me while trying to escape. That's all; if you see him, tell him he has extra homework as punishment._ ("Perfect!") Oh, and the principal wants to see him ("Super perfect!")

* * *

"But I didn't do anything of the sort!" He exclaimed. "What's going on?"

Just then, the rest of the gang burst into his room. "How could you!" Yelled Jeremy.

"What did I do now?" Mumbled the dark-haired boy.

Jeremy showed his his PC, a security camera showing him fiddling with the computer in the lab.

"You implanted a virus, that's what you did! You bugged up the vehicles, Layla's scan results and everything else!"

"Jeremy, I barely know how to turn a computer off! What makes you think I could put a virus in it?"

"You were fiddling with the keyboard!" Jeremy was red in the face. "You pressed all the buttons multiple times and it went crazy!"

"William, do you know the risks of pressing button without knowing their meaning?" Aelita asked, softly. "Why did you even came to the lab in the middle of the night in the first place?"

"Probably for some upgrade" snorted Ulrich. "Or his stupid curiosity"

"Or to send a lovey dovey message to Geraldine!" Odd spatted.

"Guys, I swear..."

"Why did we even let you back in the group in the first place?" Jeremy said. "You'd better change your attitude; until then, you're out!"

William sighed, as the five Lyoko Warriors shut the door behind them.

"What is wrong with them?" He asked Layla. She shook her head in response.

* * *

Yumi wasn't waiting for them in class and Layla, even though she sensed he was innocent, had stayed out of both of their way to avoid picking sides.

She looked at the camera photos from Lyoko.

 _It's weird_ she thought, looking in front of her: William was doodling, while Yumi was working on the Italian test the orange-haired girl had concluded ten minutes earlier.

 _Here, I've got footage of Taelia arriving in class, and in this photo, Aelita is trapped in a guardian_ at the same hour _and no one noticed until it's too late_ _. How on Earth could someone be enough stupid to confuse her for Aelita anyway? If Jeremy could've upgraded his Holomap, he would've seen both girls and figured it out that Taelia wasn't..._

Suddenly, it hit her like a thunderbolt: it was so simple, how could her friends missed it?

How could William kiss Geraldine and flirt with Yumi at the same time? And how could he simply bug up the Superscan just like that? Unless...

She smirked and opened her PC.

 _X.A.N.A. bugged Jeremy's Superscan, but mine is linked to all the folders: the AI would never let his files get bugged up, even if they are in the wrong hands._

She dug up some files about the Supercomputer status and fixed a few programs, like the vehicles and the weapons. Then she opened another window with the Tower Records.

She frowned when it told her what the attack was.

She sent a message to Aelita and the others, and passed a note to Yumi.

* * *

The four younger Lyoko Warriors had Science on second period. Today, they were learning about acids and their properties. Aelita was taking notes, giggling when she saw Herb shaking like a leaf at the thought of being hit by the beakers holding the poweful chemical, Jeremy was basically writing every single thing Mrs. Hertz said, Ulrich was writing down every single word that could help him study, yawning every now and then because of his insomnia, and Odd was drawing Layla holding Kiwi.

His phone vibrated in his pocket; taking care not to be seen, he fished for it and read the text: "X.A.N.A. Spectre. L. *heart*"

He slightly blushed when he saw the heart at the end. Maybe his friends were right: maybe Layla _did_ like him, after all...

Ulrich tapped his shoulder, as if to ask: "X.A.N.A.?" Odd nodded.

Aelita and Jeremy reached for their phones when they vibrated, and looked at the message. The two Einsteins gave their friends a 'you-know-what-to-do' look.

"Plan 'Group Infirmary'?" Suggested Odd. Aelita winked at him, smirking, in response.

The pinkette then fell from her chair.

"Aelita?" Jeremy bent down.

"I'll take her to the..." Odd stood from his seat, before suddenly falling down in a dead faint.

"Ma'am, can we take them to the infirmary?" Jeremy and Ulrich asked.

"Alright, but be quick!"

The two boys grabbed their 'fainted' friends and left. As soon as they were out of the building, Aelita and Odd opened their eyes and laughed.

"Fainting is fun, if you fake it" Odd said.

"I sent a message to Layla; they're coming" Jeremy put his phone back in his pants pocket.

* * *

Yumi tried very hard to concentrate, but with thoughts spinning in her head, it was really hard.

 _William tried to kiss me_. She thought. _And Ulrich was jealous of his 'flirting'...wait, Ulrich was WHAT!_

She looked back at the test. _Concentrate, Yumi, concentrate!_

Someone passed her a folded note. It had 'Yumi' written on it in a tidy calligraphy. She opened it, taking care to stay out of the teacher's sight.

 _The answer to question 8 is 'invariable'; and question 9 is 'Perché suo nipote era stato assassinato lo stesso giorno tre anni fa'; also, X.A.N.A.'s attacking._

Yumi sighed, wrote down the answers and gave the paper to the teacher, before asking to go to the bathroom. Five minutes later, when Layla had passed another note to William (being 80% of the Kadic boys' crush is useful sometimes), she asked to go to the infirmary, the black-haired boy volunteering to escort her.

* * *

"A polisomething Spectre?" Asked Odd, surprised.

Layla nodded. "X.A.N.A. knew that we still had some doubts about William; so he created a clone exactly like him to spread some more infidelity"

"Then why did he slapped the girls?" Yumi asked, looking at William with a suspicious look, no one knew why.

"The first thing he did was bad-mouth him to some people, slapping girls and kissing them in front if their boyfriends" Layla explained. "Probably to leave him alone when we all kicked him out of the group. When that worked, he decided to hit that thread of friendship which still linked us together: first, he killed two birds with a stone, kissing Odd's ex and making her look like a cheater and him like a bad friend; then, he acted like a flirty creep with Yumi in front of Ulrich, killing what little friendship thread they had"

Ulrich's eyes locked with the two older students, blushing with regret.

"The next thing he did, was prove his un-loyalty by..."

"Sending a virus to the Supercomputer and also screwing up the Superscan" Jeremy finished, half-relieved that Layla had manage to fix half of the programs.

"That was his first plan to break our friendship; he was probably planning something to make me turn his back on him, the only one who believed him truly" Layla smiled. "But X.A.N.A. forgot one thing: my Superscan's linked to all his files on my PC, so bugging it will mean bugging the files to, and there's YEARS of work in there; he'll never lose all that, not even if that'll mean we'll eventually learn everything he has and owns; so he didn't bug it"

Everyone cheered for Layla. "You're a cute girl, but you've got Aleita's brains!" Odd exclaimed.

Layla smiled at him. "Tu pense que je suis jolie?" She asked him.

Odd thought long about how he could answer. At first, he wanted to deny what he said, but there was no more turning back.

"Uh...Ouais" he smirked. "Très jolie".

She blushed slightly.

"Hey, guys, what are..." A familiar voice called them. They stared at that person, eyes widened.

"William?"

"No; it's the spectre!" The William next to them cried.

"Huh? What the heck, people!"

"Stand back!"

"Make me!"

The two started fighting.

"How do we know who's who?" Asked Ulrich, staring at them: they were _exactly_ the same, no extra hair lock, no X.A.N.A. symbol in their eyes, same clothes, same nose...it was kinda creeepy.

Layla thought about it. Her brain started working at tremendous speed, and she didn't even noticed it was highly unnatural. She pondered, hard, then she came up with an idea.

"William!" She called. They both looked at her: one of them had a black eye, the other had a bruise on its arm.

Her brain pondered again. She knew who the real one was just by looking at his bruises, but decided to stick up with her plan.

"What do you think of Ulrich?" She asked.

Everyone stared at her, as though she was crazy.

The William with the bruise on his arm opened his mouth to answer, while the other pondered, and Layla immediately struck him with a lightning bolt.

The Clone dissolved as soon as the spark hit it.

"How did you know it was me?" The real William asked.

"Three signs: your black eye, intuition and the clone'sanswer: these days,the real William would hesitate before speaking, since the answer would probably enrage a samurai we all know too well, who's still against trusting you; plus, your eye is slightly blacker than normal, and we all know that Spectres can really punch"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and ran towards the factory.

* * *

"So, does anyone volunteer to stay in case the clone attacks?" Jeremy asked, as he sat in the chair.

William raised his hand. "I volunteer: me and him have a few things to discuss about"

"Alright..." Jeremy stopped in mid-sentence, as a black cloud of smoke swirled towards the ground, shaping into a dark-haired person they all knew well.

"You guys go!" William exclaimed, as the elvator closed behind his back and Jeremy typed in the virtualization program

"So, X.A.N.A., first you turn into me to separate me from everyone" he looked in the clone's dark eyes. "And now you've turned into Yumi? **(A/N: fooled ya!)** Next time, turn into Ulrich so I might enjoy punching you a bit more!"

"I heard you!" The brunette yelled from the scanner room.

"Don't sulk, Ulrich, William was joking" Layla said, getting inside the scanner. "Well, partly..."

Ulrich frowned even more.

"Ok: Layla, Aelita, Odd, get ready to enter the scanner; I've located the tower in the Forest Sector thanks to Layla's PC" he typed some keys, as Odd and Aelita entered the scanners.

"Transfer Layla; Transfer Aelita; Transfer Odd; Scanner Layla; Scanner Aelita; Scanner Odd; Virtualization!"

* * *

Layla landed in the Forest Secotr with a _thump._ She looked at her brown gloves and her green dress.

"Jeremy, how did I do that thing you said?"

Aelita answered for her. "It's based on your instict: when you want to, you do it"

"What are talking about?" The hybrid asked them.

"You'll see"

"Ok, guys" Jeremy called over his microphone. "I'm sending Yumi and Ulrich now; meanwhile, the tower is right ahead of you; watch out for monsters!"

He was about to start the virtualization process, when Odd stopped him.

"Jeremy, are you forgetting something?"

"Huh?"

Odd rolled his eyes. "VEHICLES, PLEASE!"

"Right; sorry" Jeremy typed some more. "One Overboard and Krabe coming right up!"

Odd's Overboard materailized in front of him, along with an Overbike and an Overwing for Yumi and Ulrich when they arrived. Last of all, a Krabe dropped from the sky, landing near the orange-haired teen.

She stroked on of its legs. "Hi, Krabe"

She closed her eyes and levitated and top of it.

Odd's eyes widened. "How on Earth did you..."

She shrugged. "Since I'm somehow linked to the Supercomputer, I have everyone's powers"

As Aelita used her star bracelet to make her wings appear, she noticed the Tamer's belt glowing.

 _Another mistery..._

* * *

"Get ready, guys!" Jeremy called to Yumi and Ulrich, already in the scanner.

"Transfer Ulrich; Transfer Yumi; Scanner Ulrich; Scanner Yumi; Virtualization"

* * *

The two landed in front of their vehicles and jumped on them.

"Wanna race?" Ulrich asked the ninja girl. "First one to arrive to the others wins"

He hadn't even finished that Yumi was already ahead of him.

"Hey!" He started his Overbike and, in a few seconds, he had caught up with the Overwing.

"Cheater!" He protested, half-joking.

"Sorry; you didn't say that we had to start after your explanation" she said, smiling.

Ulrich shrugged: how could he be mad at Yumi for something that was, technically, his fault?

They continued their race, and Ulrich was about to win...

"Watch out for the Krabe!" Yumi yelled. Ulrich turned around to see where the Krabe was, but got distracted, and slowed down a bit, letting the Japanese girl win.

Aelita, Layla and Odd greeted her.

"That's not fair!" Ulrich protested, when his Overbike caught up with her Overwing. "There was no Krabe! You cheated!"

"I didn't" she chuckled. "There was a Krabe: what do you think Layla's riding, a Megatank?"

Ulrich humphed, but smiled to himself.

"Guys! Hornets, twelve o'clock!"

Sure enough, the wasp-like X.A.N.A.'s monsters appeared and started shooting lasers at them. One hit the Overwing, sending Yumi crashing near a tree.

"That crash was fifteen life points, Yumi" Jeremy said.

The ninja groaned, and stood up, reaching for her fans and throwing one of them to the Hornet who shot her. It exploded, but there were still many left. Layla and her Krabe were working on it, while Odd was escorting Aelita to the tower.

"Need a ride?" Ulrich asked Yumi, stopping his Overbike in front of her.

"Sure, why not?" She jumped on the back seat and held on him tight with one hand, while throwing one of her fans over and over with the other.

Secretly, Ulrich couldn't help but blush (if avatars could blush, that is) when she clinged tightly on his waist, holding for...dear life? Avoiding from falling off? Just for the heck of it? That he didn't know.

Yumi threw her fan one last time, before she pointed at a gap in front of the Overbike and screamed.

Layla, tossing her whip yet again at another Hornet, looked at both of them. She let the Krab shoot at the rest of the monsters, while she used Creativity to fill in the gap.

The Overbike went over the unstable virtual ground and stopped as soon as the two had arrived safely at the other end; Layla collapsed on her knees forcthe struggle, and the grass that had replaced the gap disappeared.

"Thanks, Layla" the samurai and the ninja yelled.

The orange-haired girl didn't say anything, but cringed when her and her friends' status rang in her mind:

Aelita: 80

Krabe: 65

Layla: 53

Odd: 30

Ulrich: 95

Yumi: 40

She made a note to ask Jeremy if she could learn how to use her powers without draining her life points so quickly.

* * *

The Clone's hands sparkled, as he fired another lightning bolt that William avoided.

"Tsk tsk, X.A.N.A., you should know better: I was the best in my old Dodgeball team"

The Clone just fired anothe light bolt.

"Besides" William continued. "Yumi's cute and athletic, but months of avoiding her fans on Lyoko helped me avoiding her pencil case at school; it's the same with those bolts"

Jeremy looked at him. "Her pencil case?"

William blushed. "Uh, long story"

* * *

"Guys, William's a good dodger and all, but he won't hold up for long"

"Yeah; well, unfortunately Einstein, collecting honey from the beehive didn't go well today" Odd complained. "Laser Arrow!" Three Laser Arrows were shot; two missed, but the third hit the target.

Aelita was hiding behind a rock, shooting Energy Fields at any Hornet who came about ten feet close to her.

Yumi's fans hit a Hornet which was a about to fire a laser in Odd's direction.

"Thanks, Yumi" the hybrid smiled.

"No problem..." A laser hit her from behind.

"Yumi!" Ulrich screamed, as the ninja devirtualized. He supersprinted towards the Tarantula who had shot his beloved, and sank both katanas on the Eye before the monster had hardly had any time to realize what the heck was going on.

"That'll teach you" the samurai muttered, as the Tarantula exploded.

Another Tarantula approached.

"Leave that to me" Odd said, running towards the monster. (The Overboard had been devirtualized before)

Before Ulrich could protest, Odd had fired a Laser Arrow, but got shot in the process, and fell over the edge.

"Help!" He cried, as the monster exploded.

"Odd!" It was time to use her new ability: Layla jumped over the edge.

Ulrich ran to stop her, but Aelita held him back.

"She knows what she's doing, Ulrich" she told him, as she fire and Energy Field to another Hornet.

* * *

William was slammed on the opposite wall, the hit knocking the air in his lungs out.

"Aelita!" Jeremy looked at the now-William Clone (he had shifted after William had said that thing about the pencil case). "Run towards the tower now! Things are getting a bit hot in here!"

* * *

Aelita heard the genius's voice and ran to the tower, while Ulrich fended off the rest of the Hornets. Layla's Krabe got devirtualized the second Ulrich hit one of them.

* * *

"Odd!"

Layla reached for the blonde's paw and concentrated.

 _Instinct. Aelita said to use instinct._ She thought. _But...what if i didn't work like the other time?_

* * *

 _"What if it doesn't work?" A worried Layla looked down: the Digital Sea was a deep blue, with lines of light blue code running through it like waves._

 _"That's why we're practising on the ice" Aelita told her. "Now, he said to use your instinct; do it"_

 _Layla closed her eyes._ I want to fly. I want to fly.

 _Nothing happened._

 _"It's not working!"_

 _"Instinct!" Another somehow familiar voice told her."You need to really want to fly; deep in your heart"_

 _Layla smiled at the owner of the voice. "That's coming from a girl who needs to learn what 'wanting from the deep of your heart' means'!"_

 _The figure scratched her head, not knowing how to answer._

 _"C'mon, you can do it!" Another voice cried._

 _Layla closed her eyes and climbed up an iceberg. She then raised her hands to form a T-shape with her own body and jumped._

I want to fly. _She_ _thought._ Fly, to save myself from falling...

 _She landed on her face._

 _"Ow!" She exclaimed. The Tamer stood up and kicked the ground. "I'm never going to learn how to fly"_

 _Another figure approached her. "You're going to learn, Layla, I think I saw a small virtual feather when you jumped..."_

 _She smiled back at the owner of the voice. "Thanks Wilfred; you always know how to cheer me up..."_

* * *

"Where did THAT come from?" She asked loudly.

"What?" Odd asked.

"Nothing, nothing" they were holding on a small branch which Aelita had made appear

"This branch isn't going to last long, anyway" Odd pointed at a crack on it.

Layla tightened her grip on his paw. _I want to fly..._ She thought. _I want to save Odd, save myself, I want to see the real world again..._

The branch suddenly gave away, but Layla could feel a weird feeling on her back and she knew it was happening...

Odd screamed, waiting for the splash...it never came. Instead, he was hovering in mid-air.

He looked at Layla, and his cat eyes widened: the Tamer was holding him, and big brown eagle-like wings had sprouted from her back, flapping every two seconds to keep them from falling.

"Layla!" He exclaimed, smiling. "You're my Guardian AngelM"

She blushed (if she could) "Odd..."

"Mh-hm?"

"I was wondering..." She looked in his eyes. "Was Ulrich serious when he said about you asking me out?"

Now, it was Odd's turn to 'blush'. "Oh, ehm..." _No turning back, no turning back._ "Yeah..."

"Great!" She smiled. "Saturday at 8 good for you?"

"Huh?" His eyes were now the size of plates.

"Well, for now, we could just go out as friends, then..."

"Sure" he said. "Saturday at 8's fine; movie marathon?"

"Great" she slowly made her way towards the Forest ground, her wings disappearing in a small burst of pixels as she touched the ground.

"So, now we have another Angel?" Ulrich joked.

"Yeah; now we just need Yumi to sprout wings and save you and you have your own Guardian Angel too; but I think it's better you sprout wings, since you're the one who always saves her" Layla said, giggling at Ulrich's embarrassed face.

"Well, Yumi's here, William's fine, tower's deactivated, Layla has learned to fly, and Odd has a 'friend date'; this day couldn't get any better" Jeremy smiled.

Layla sighed. "Would it get worse if I told you that I already tried to fly in the past?"

Everyone stared at her and gasped: what did she mean?

* * *

"Could it be possible, Jeremy?" Yumi asked the genius. They were sitting at the lunch table, and William had somehow managed to find an excuse for his horrible behaviour; that, though, he'd rather not talk about.

"That Layla knew Aelita and she was on Lyoko? Maybe, but it could also be a mixed-up memory; knowing how your memory is, it could be possible"

Layla poked at her spaghetti. "Well, I really hope it's a mixed-up memory: the fact that I'm linked to the Supercomputer is enough confusing; going to Lyoko nearly ten years ago is even crazier...and those disappearing kids...you think maybe it's a coincidence?"

No one dared to answer.

* * *

A shadow ran his hands through the screen in front of him: it showed a small blue sphere, with something pink inside it.

"As I suspected: it's broken and now they're trying to get back to her brain" he started pacing.

"I need to do something, quick! Something to repair the damage! I need time, too: they were so close last time..." He opened another screen and slided through some data, before he got the one he needed. He smiled and opened a few other screens, touching and transferring data, before one of them announced, much to his delight:

TRANSFER COMPLETED

TOWER ACTIVATING IN 8H

With that delay, he had enough time to work on repairing the Memory Bubble and the future attack.

"Using my new creation, I'll be able to work on the repairing system and eliminate my enemies once and for all"

He heard a roar as his new creation approached him.

X.A.N.A. smiled cruelly: it was, as Delenda had once told him, what humans called 'killing to birds with one stone'

* * *

 **Review review! This is the end of Episode 6, dedicated to Naruto Sakura Uzumaki, who gave me the X.A.N.A. attack idea. Next episode "In the clutches of the nightmares", inspired by another episode from the first season: you guess which.**

 **'Till the next time, everyone!**


	8. Ep 7: In The Clutches Of The Nightmares

**Here we are, back to "Case Of Delenda"!**

 **As I said last time, this episode was inspired by an episode from the first season, but it also might look like an episode from the third season too. I remember I was watching it, when I fell asleep right in the middle of it; since then, I've always liked the middle part of that episode :-D.**

 **So, onwards!**

* * *

 _ **Review Answers:**_

 _ **Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: I'll certainly PM you if I'm having any trouble. And thanks again for your idea!**_

 _ **Josh Xana: Thanks. Also, I started reading your story, and it looks interesting.**_

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: So...Ummmm...  
**

 **Yumi/Odd/Ulrich/William: WE WON'T SAY THE DISCLAIMER!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Why?**

 **Yumi: Aren't we suffering enough?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Great job, Yumi, really! Ruining everything!  
**

 **Odd: What did she do?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Uh, nothing...if you didn't guess, then no one else guessed...**

 **Layla: *raises hand* can I ask a question to the Author?**

 **SecretCodeLokan: Sure.**

 **Layla: Why are you here typing? You could be outside, like your mum said...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: It's 30 degrees outside, I've wasted half of the summer in my room, the few friends I have are away or probably talking about stuff I hardly understand...I don't understand the point of going out.**

 **Ulrich: *whispers* Then you complain 'cause they say you're anti-social...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *clutching hands into fists* That's it! Ulrich, _you_ say the disclaimer!**

 **Ulrich: No way!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Do it or I'll punch you!**

 **Ulrich: Try!**

 ***SecretCodeLyokan punches Ulrich; fangirls scream and Yumi giggles slightly***

 **Yumi: So, Ulrich, you always lose over a girl? Is that your weak spot?**

 **Ulrich: *Blush* She took me by surprise.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I barely know how to punch and you didn't even try toavoid it! Ulrich, you'd better practice after this episode!**

 **Ulrich: *sigh***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Now, disclaimer.**

 **Ulrich: Why?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: If you don't I'll make you practice That Scene.**

 **Ulrich: *mumbles* blackmailer. *raises his voice* SecretCodeLyokan doesn't own Code Lyoko. If she did, this fanfic would be a series and That Scene would be real. *quickly runs off-stage, so no one sees him blushin***

 ***fangirls scream like crazy and interrogate each other about That Scene***

 **SecretcodeLyokan: Places everyone! Now, get that thing over here. *she points at a weird-looking animal covered in metal, its wild tail thrashing everywhere* By the way, I don't own this monster, but I do own its new power...you'll discover it soon.**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 7: In The Clutches Of The Nightmares**

* * *

"Aelita, enter the tower! It's now or never!"

But Aelita stayed put, flapping her wings in the nonexistent cold air of the Ice Sector, and she threw two other Energy Fields towards a Hornet.

"Layla, get out of there! You've got 20 Life Points! Another hit an it's game over!" Jeremy yelled from his earpiece.

Layla didn't move, though. She kept fighting and swishing her whip high in the air.

"A little help here!" she shouted to her friends: Yumi and Ulrich were dealing with two Krabes, while Odd and William were trying to avoid a Megatank.

Odd was the first to dash off, leaving William alone.

"What kind of friend are you?" he groaned, swishing his sword once, and killing the Megatank with his Energy Wave.

Odd looked at him, while running on his paws.

"I can see that you can perfectly take care of yourself!" he said.

"Impact!"

Ulrich had just destroyed one of the Krabes, while Yumi was still having trouble with the other one.

"Laser Arrow!" Odd shouted, firing his weapon and killing two Hornets. Layla swished her whip so that the end part connected with the symbol, turning it into a bow, and fired two arrows at the last Hornets.

"I hope that those were the last" she said. "I'm out of arrows"

"I think you should yell something cool when you shoot them" Odd suggested, changing the topic. "Like I say 'Laser Arrow' and Aelita says 'Energy Field'"

"Yumi doesn't say anything" Layla pointed out.

Aelita landed safely near the tower. "Layla, I think you should come with me; maybe your life points heal like mine in the tower"

The Tamer nodded slowly and entered the tower with the pinkette.

* * *

"Wow!" Layla looked around and was captured by the binary codes on the tower's walls. "This place is beautiful"

The platform shined with little sounds every time their feet made a few steps. As Aelita was about to levitate upwards, she said: "Don't move Layla; wait for Jeremy to tell you when you're fully healed, and then we can go"

Layla nodded and sat on the platform, her eyes closed as if she was meditating. _Weird_ she thought. _I can hear everything: Odd's paws lying softly on the ground every one and half seconds, William's sword barely scratching the terrain, Ulrich Supersprinting towards the Krabe, Yumi's shoes sliding on the ice, the Krabe's claws scratching the surface...and what's that sound?_ Her eyes shot open.

* * *

The four Lyoko Warriors had cornered the Krabe, and Yumi had just took out her fan to destroy the monster, when a weird, piercing roar echoed in their ears. They turned around, slowly.

"What-what was that?" Odd asked, shaking a bit.

"One thing is sure: whatever it is, it isn't friendly" mumbled William, his sword glowing, ready to strike an Energy Wave.

Ulrich took out his two katanas.

Yumi tossed her fan to the Krabe, then picked it up as it swirled back. Odd bravely aimed his arm at an unspecified direction, trying hard not to shake.

 _Guys, don't fight it! Run!_ Layla's voice echoed in their minds. _It will kill you! It will!_

Odd had a Future Flash:

 _He saw William's face twisted in pain...then he saw Yumi glowing as if she was using telekinesis and clutching her fan with both hands...Ulrich was acting strange: he looked like he was grasping for air, as if he was slowly suffocating...Then he saw a blurry vision of Layla, shaking him. "Wake up, Odd! Wake up!"..._

"Guys..." he said, lowering his paw. "I think we should leave before..."

Another roar came, this time followed by sound of heavy, running steps. The four Lyoko Warriors looked at the shape approaching them, worry written on their faces.

* * *

"Guys, what's happening?" Jeremy asked. "I see something on the screen, but I can't see what it is; guys?" he heard a scream and a _BEEP!_ alerted him of the ninja's card status. But a big and red exclamation mark was on it.

"Guys? What happened?"

No one answered.

* * *

A scream from outside echoed inside the tower.

"Yumi!" two voices yelled simultaneously. Layla had her eyes still closed, wincing as the swords were hurled on the ground.

Layla's eyes shot open again. "Odd" she whispered, looking at the floor in utter desperation. "Odd, I sent you the Future Flash ; you saw what happened; run while you still can!"

* * *

The message was sent telepathically to his brain; but Odd couldn't hear it. Nor could the others. The monster cornered him and shot him, like it did to Yumi, to Ulrich, to William...

Jeremy screamed when their life points dropped to zero, yet there was no window telling him they had been devirtualized back.

* * *

"Have you searched _all_ the Ice Sector?"

Layla was pacing backwards and forwards in the Lab, while Aelita was looking at the monitor with Jeremy for their friends: when the four of them had lost all of their life points, they hadn't come back, and the two geniuses had spent the last few hours trying to find them.

"Yes" Jeremy answered.

"And the Forest Sector?"

"Sure"

"The Mountain Sector?"

"Twice"

"Sector 5? The Desert Sector? Lyoko Reign? Switzerland? The Digital Sea?"

"Layla, we've searched everywhere, using their signal, their body's signal, their mind's signal, every signal in fact, and twice in all of the Sectors"

"And?" Layla stopped pacing, staring at her friends with wet eyes.

Aelita looked down, tears starting to form.

"They...they just disappeared" she said. "I'm sorry"

Layla lowered her head in desperation. "But, isn't there another way?" she asked, a few tears dropped from her face onto the ground. "Maybe...maybe I'll go back to Lyoko, and we could find them, and-"

Aelita put her hand on the Tamer's shoulder. "The scanners are offline" she explained. "We had to block them while searching; tomorrow, I promise you we're going to search for them on Lyoko; Jeremy is covering for us"

Layla raised her head and slowly nodded. She then walked towards the elevator and pressed the button, her face still mourning over the four Lyoko Warriors.

When the doors closed, Aelita resumed her place near Jeremy.

"Aelita, I don't understand: Layla hasn't known us for long; still, she grieves as though she had known them their whole life"

"Yumi was her first friend here, Jeremy" Aelita patiently explained. "Hadn't it been for her, we would've never met Layla; and did you know that she sometimes tutored Ulrich when Yumi didn't? And that she comforted him when Yumi jumped in the Digital Sea? She doesn't only hang around with them to bring them together, you know: they're a great team, the three of them"

Jeremy smiled. "I bet that, as a good friend, Layla wants to see them happy; which means also bringing them together"

Aelita nodded. "She told me she remembers a distant memory of her past: she doesn't know if it was real, or a movie, or a dream, but there were those two people; one of them was about to fall over a cliff, and the other one was holding her slipping hand" Aelita dried her tears away. "The one over the cliff told the one holding her that she loved him; then she let go...Layla said that the guy joined her a few minutes later, but she doesn't remember why..." Aelita dried her tears once again.

"In other words, she doesn't want Yumi and Ulrich to make the same mistake" Jeremy looked at the pinkette he liked so much and stroked an escaping tear away.

"Tell their feelings when it's too late...yes"

They both stared at each other, knowing that it was a rule to them too; but their situation was slightly different: Aelita knew he loved her, even though he would never admit it out loud, and Jeremy knew Aelita had feelings for him; they were just waiting for the right time to officially announce it.

Ulrich and Yumi, on the other hand, _still_ didn't know; and _still_ denied it!

"What about William?" Jeremy changed the subject. "She doesn't really hang out with him much"

Aelita sighed. "If there's someone William would protect with his life other than Yumi, that's Layla: sure, he didn't like her at first, and she couldn't stand him much too, but she was the one who believed him when the clone attacked, or the only one which was the first to accept our proposal to let him in. She sees him as a total different person and is really helpful whenever they spend time together: have you read her newspaper stories?"

"A few; Layla's a talent, I must say"

Aelita walked towards her bag and pulled out the latest version of the school paper.

"The last story was totally dedicated to a guy: a guy which in some ways wasn't part of their group, but helped them numerous times with their secret; somehow, the others didn't trusted him, but only one of the princesses did"

"Let me guess: the guy's supposed to be William and the princess's Layla"

"Bingo"

"Looks like William might be having a new love rival if he isn't careful" Jeremy smirked. "Speaking of Odd, he was the only one I would expect Layla to shed tears for"

"Yeah, those two complete themselves: she studies, he doesn't, she had seconds of her favorite meal, he has fourths of _everything_ , she loves writing, he loves making films, she loves singing, he plays the guitar, he saves her from the monsters, she saves him from the Digital Sea...do I need to go on?"

Jeremy faked exasperation. "No *gasp* I give up!" and he fainted. Aelita giggled.

"Plus, these two want Yumi and Ulrich together"

"Well, what will it be: Layla Dunbar or Layla Della Robbia?"

Aelita frowned. "Dunno;we'll see..." she yawned.

Jeremy smiled at her. "You go to sleep, Aelita; I'll stay here"

"Jeremy, you've missed far too many hours of sleep: if you don't go to sleep, then I shan't either"

Jeremy sighed. "Ok; but if you fall asleep, I'm not waking you"

Aelita smiled and sat down, picking his laptop. "Do you think I'm letting down Layla that easily? If we work together, we might get the scanners offline, keep searching _and_ decode her Scan too!"

Jeremy nodded. "Pity Layla couldn't fix that when the virus attacked..." he mumbled.

* * *

 _He woke up and felt his head: it hurt like crazy._

 _"Where am I?" he wondered. He looked around and saw himself dangling from a really high wall. He clutched to the stones that made that wall, scared._

Don't look down. _He closed his eyes again._ Don't look down...

 _"Why am I here?" he yelled to no one in particular._

 _"Don't you remember?" a familiar voice laughed. It was a boy's voice, but it was partly distorted, as if it was an android._

 _He shuddered when he recognized the owner. The boy was smiling from the bottom, holding a black-haired girl he knew well over the edge of a cliff..._

 _"Hi, Ulrich" The Xanafied William said._

* * *

 _Everyone was crowding around the pool. She stayed put and didn't move. The trampoline was in front of her. She took a few deep breaths and climbed the ladder. This will determine her future, her entire career. She walked towards the end of the board, which bent against her weight. She rose her arms and was about to jump, when the pool water was replaced by the Digital Sea.  
_

 _"Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!" everyone was yelling. Ulrich was yelling it too, with great passion. And was that girl he had his arms around her waist..._

 _Yumi didn't jump; she was too depressed to do so. But she heard the board crack faintly..._

* * *

 _He woke up, sweat all over his forehead._

 _"So, it was all a dream" he sighed, relieved. "Just a dream..." he opened his closet and found a pretty pink dress in it, instead of his clothes._

 _"WHAT!" he screamed. There was nothing else. He walked towards Ulrich's closet to get something, but Ulrich blocked him._

 _"What do you think you're doing?" the brunette yelled._

 _"My-my-my clothes were stolen..."_

 _"So..."_

 _"Could you...lend me some of yours?"_

 _"No can do, sorry" Ulrich walked away, locking the wardrobe behind him._

 _The boy sighed and, knowing he'll regret it for the rest of his life, put on the dress._

 _As he walked towards the cafeteria, everyone laughing at him, he saw a meteorite crashing on it._

 _"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Odd screamed, as food pulverized before his eyes and a girl with orange hair was wincing, hit by the meteorite too._

* * *

 _He woke up._ What is this place? _he asked himself._

 _He was lying in a white room, brightened by a lamp on the ceiling. a weird tickling sensation passed over his whole body._

Huh? _He looked on his arm and screamed: a big, fat, black spider was crawling all over it. The spider heard him and stopped for a few seconds; then, suddenly, the ground shook, as thousands of different types of spiders crawled all over the room, and his screams got louder and louder.  
_

 _"Like them?" a static voice asked him. He stared as a shadow formed in front of him, the symbol on his forehead and suit really familiar. The shadow was holding two girls in his hands: a black-haired one and an orange-haired one._

 _"Welcome to your worst fears, William" X.A.N.A. smiled._

* * *

"So, here's the plan: you two go in the Ice Sector and try and find them; I'll cover for Aelita and the others" Jeremy told the two girls in the Scanner Room.

"Why can't I go alone?" Layla asked. "Aelita used to live in Lyoko and she didn't get killed"

"X.A.N.A. could try something nasty on you" the blonde explained, while typing the virtualization process.

"Transfer Aelita; Tranfer Layla; Scanner Aelita; Scanner Layla; Virtualization!"

* * *

 _"What do you want ?" Ulrich asked, still holding tightly onto the rocks.  
_

 _Xanafied William smiled. "I want you to suffer; to see the girl you love falling numerous times in the Digital Sea"_

 _"That will accomplish what?"_

 _William smirked. "Seeing you cry" he let go of Yumi's hand. Ulrich screamed and jumped to catch her._

* * *

 _Yumi quickly climbed from the trampoline and ran towards the exit, but someone pushed her and she nearly fell in the cold and dead virtual water._

 _"Ulrich, please help!" she cried. Ulrich went towards her, but instead of helping her, he pushed her. She screamed, but managed to climb out just the same and run towards the exit in front of her._

 _A piece of paper flapped in her face. It was a document. She recognized the handwriting immediately._

Divorced? _She sank to her knees in utter desperation  
_

* * *

 _"Layla!" Odd ran towards her and picked her up, cradling her in his arms, but she just laid there, not moving a muscle._

 _"Einstein, help!" he called over to Jeremy._

 _He looked at the spiky-haired blond in disgust._

 _"Why should I help you?" he walked away._

 _"Yumi, Ulrich, help!" The two lovebirds ignored him as they passed by._

 _He turned back to Layla and shook her._

 _"Layla, Layla, please don't die" tears filled his eyes. "Please..."_

* * *

 _"So, William, who shall it be I throw to the spiders?" X.A.N.A. asked him. "The girl who hates you or the girl who rejected you?"_

 _"What?" William shuddered as the spiders crawl over his body._

 _"Yumi hates you; Layla rejected you: who shall I feed to the spiders?"_

 _"Yumi doesn't hate me; and Layla didn't reject me!" the dark-haired boy yelled._

 _"William" X.A.N.A. smiled. "They used you; they abandoned you; you're all alone in the world, with no one that cares about you. They let you die, shut you in a spider's cave" he pointed at all the spiders. "And you want to save both girls? Tsk, humans!"_

* * *

Aelita and Layla were in a tower, one up and one down: Aelita was looking at some files, while Layla was meditating and listening to the sounds in the area. Jeremy had arrived a couple of minutes ago, for lunch break.

Suddenly, the Tamer heard someone screaming her name.

"Layla! Layla!"

"Odd?" she said, opening her eyes. "Jeremy, I'm picking up several signals"

Aelita descended. "I picked up a signal too"

"What is it?" Jeremy asked. "Here; I'll show you" Layla made a screen appear. "It looks like a video or something, but look who's in this first one"

Jeremy's eyes went as wide as plates. "Ulrich?"

* * *

 _Ulrich found himself in his house, in the living room; he was looking at his mum and dad fighting; normally, they wouldn't fight so violently, but that was an exception: he remembered that day..._

 _Instinct told him to go towards his mother and help her, since she was crying. He pushed his father aside, screaming and telling him to leave his mother alone; Ulrich's dad slapped him. It was very hard, yet it didn't hurt that much this time._

 _He ran to his room, shaking like a leaf, as Mr. Stern chased him through the stairs. He saw Yumi sitting on his chair._

 _"Yumi, help me!" he exclaimed, shutting the door behind him._

 _"Why should I?" answered the Japanese teen, coldly. "You let me die; you were the one who rejected me. And now I should help you?" she opened the window and climbed out of it._

 _"YUMI!" he screamed, as the door burst open._

* * *

"Did that really happen to him?" asked Jeremy.

"Well, apart from the Yumi part, yes" she answered "It happened only once, when he was ten, but it was the scariest moment of his life"

"What about the other signal?"

Aelita looked at the window she had opened. "This one has Yumi in it"

* * *

So, it finally happened. _Yumi thought, tears running down her cheeks._ It had to happen, anyway.

 _The teen walked away, kicking a tin can in frustration. She heard a few voices passing by._

 _"So, what did you liked best about Lyoko?" Odd asked Ulrich._

 _He shrugged. "Yumi falling in the Digital Sea a long time ago was fun"_

 _"Really?" Odd stopped walking. And stared at the brunette. Yumi stared too.  
_

 _Ulrich laughed. "Did you seriously think I wouldn't enjoy a few minutes without her to bother us?"_

 _"I thought you liked her" Odd was surprised. Yumi was too._

 _"I never did" Ulrich laughed again and walked away._

 _Just then, she heard something cold touch her. She looked behind and saw a giant wave of Digital Sea._

 _Yumi screamed, running as fast as her shoes could carry her...it wasn't that far._

* * *

"That's Yumi alright" Layla murmured. "I wonder where she is..."

"We'll find her, Layla, don't worry" Aelita reassured her. "What's the next vision?"

Layla stared at the ground, while slowly sending the visual.

* * *

 _"Layla, don't leave me!" Odd was sobbing now._

 _"My clothes were stolen and everyone's laughing at me; the food was pulverized and everyone's dying; my friends hate me and you're nearly dead!" he hugged her. "Layla, I'd do anything for you: I'd die for you, I'd hug you, I'd kiss you, I'd give you Kiwi, I'd give you anything, but please be alive! Please, we all need you..." He kissed her cheek. "I need you..."_

* * *

If avatars could cry, Layla's face would be wet like a sponge. "He needs me..." she murmured.

 _Still, I swear I heard his last three words somewhere..._ She closed her eyes and though about it...

 _A blizzard. A strong snow blizzard with a crazy temperature. Anyone going out would've probably died within a few hours or less...but they were two figures in the snow...one of the figures was squashed by a tree, whilst the other one was hugging the friend, refusing to go away...to a close up, the person trying to keep his friend alive was the one saying the words...and he looked like..._

The memory shattered, just like that. _Weird..._ she thought.

 _Layla, you'll think about it later._ The Tamer said to herself. _Right now, your friends are in grave danger_

"Guess who's the last one" she said aloud.

* * *

 _William was petrified. His friends had abandoned him? How could this be?_

 _"Why do I have to choose" he asked X.A.N.A._

 _He didn't answer. Instead, everything disappeared: the spiders, the girls, and his ex-master._

 _"I'll never go barefoot in my room again" the dark-haired mumbled. That's when his friends appeared._

 _"Whew! Am I glad to see you!" he said, smiling. He ran towards them, but they all pushed him back._

 _"Get lost!" Aelita said._

 _"Never come back!" Odd joined in._

 _"Yeah" Jeremy agreed._

 _"What's wrong?" William asked them._

 _"You betrayed our secret" Ulrich told him, sternly. "Thanks to you, we died; the whole world died"_

 _Yumi walked towards him. "I thought you had a good soul" she said, nearly crying. "I thought I could trust you; obviously, I was wrong..."_

 _Layla was crying. "You meant something to me" she said. "You were a great guy; you were everything I could want. But you killed U_ _lrich, you ripped Yumi's heart out, then went after me and everyone else"  
_

 _The Tamer mumbled something, and the Scyphozoa appeared in front of the startled boy._

 _"Goodbye, William" Yumi said, as the others disappeared._

 _William slowly walked backwards. "Leave me alone!" he yelled, ducking the monster's disgusting tentacles. He hit the wall. It was the end of him again..._

* * *

"This is weird" Jeremy said. "They look like they're on the real world, but the aren't; they're on Lyoko, but why isn't their signal picking up?"

"Unless something's blocking the signal..." Aelita mumbled, thoughtfully.

"Yeah, like..." Layla's eyes lightened up. "The _Skorpion!_ "

Aelita turned pale. "But...but it was destroyed"

"What's a 'Skorpion'?" Jeremy asked.

Aelita explained. "It's a monster, and an ugly one too: it has two legs, with feet as big as tree stumps, and has a lizard-like head; he's partly covered in metal and he doesn't have a X.A.N.A. eye. He also has a long, swishy tail, similar to a scorpion's, thus his name"

"How does Layla know about it?"

"PC" Layla explained. "The Skorpion is the most powerful of the monsters, after the Kolossus and the Scyphozoa: it can create Energy Waves with his tail and his feet, and his lasers have a really dangerous ability to trap people in their worst fears" The Tamer swallowed, before continuing. "And, the greater the fear is, the shorter it takes for the lasers to...to..." she hid her face in her hands.

Aelita continued. "Daddy created the monster to protect X.A.N.A.; but something went wrong, and it became powerful and dangerous. So Daddy locked it up in a file hidden somewhere in the Supercomputer database; if X.A.N.A. was able to find it, then that means that..."

"...He's getting more powerful" Jeremy finished, worried. "You should go back to where you were when the Skorpion supposedly attacked the others: maybe they're still there; you're 45 degrees north from it"

The girls walked out of the tower and broke into a run as soon as they were out. "How much time do you think they have left?" Layla asked Aelita.

Aelita thought about it. "I'm worried that it won't be very long: we did leave them for nearly twelve hours, remember?"

Layla shivered at the thought.

* * *

When they arrived, a horrible sight met their eyes: their four friends were lying on the ground, pinned by chords of sparkling electricity, which looked ready to electrocute them any second. Layla looked at their faces, the same as the Future Flash she sent Odd: Ulrich had gotten the biggest fright of all, since the chords were nearly chocking him, and he was starting to gasp for air. Yumi was on her side, clutching her fan with both hands, and glowing as if she was using telekinesis: she had probably tried to hit the Skorpion with a rock or something before she was trapped. Odd laid near Ulrich's katanas and William's sword, his eyes close and mumbling in his sleep, the chords closing on him by the second. William had his hands closed into two fists, and he was mumbling in pain as the Scyphozoa of his dreams chased him.

"We need to get them out, before the Skorpion comes back!" Layla whispered. She noticed one of Odd's paws wasn't trapped, and she pulled on it, slipping him out of the trap.

"Odd! Réveille-toi!" she shook the hybrid. "Wake up, Odd! Please wake up!"

"Wha-wha-what happened?" he asked, starting to slowly wake up. He brightened when he saw Layla, alive and well.

Layla smiled. "You were trapped in a set of nightmares: had we hesitated a little bit more, the au revoir to you!"

Odd stood up, and looked around. "How do we free the others?" he asked.

Jeremy looked at the screen, where Aelita had sent him a visual. "Layla, you could try and control the Skorpion, or you could use the Supercomputer to delete that power"

Layla thought about it. "We don't know where the Skorpion is, and I don't know how to control it: I'll guess I'll have to hack in the system" she sank to her knees and closed her eyes, as she slowly started to glow red.

* * *

 _Files. Millions of files from Sector 5. Which one was the Skorpion's? She searched and searched, with no avail._

 _She found a file that caught her eye: it was the status of a Memory Bubble that was fixing up rapidly._

A Memory Bubble? _She asked herself._ I'll have to keep that in mind: maybe if we find it, we might figure out who's Delenda.

 _She went back to her searching; but they were many files: who knew where the right one was?_

 _Just when she was about to lose hope, a file opened, revealing the Skorpion's status bar._

Yes! _She exclaimed._ Ok: it says here that the Skorpion's power is activated by a tower...easy. But I doubt Aelita would be able to do it alone, not with everyone nearly dying and all...if I could find a way to drop the effect of the laser...

 _She scrolled through the file. Her eyes widened._ Why didn't I thought of that before?

* * *

"C'est très facile!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't we thought of it sooner?"

"What?" Odd asked. She stood up.

"How do you defeat nightmares?" she asked.

Odd scratched his head. "Waking up?"

"And..."

Aelita raised her hand a bit, as if she was at school. "With good thoughts"

"Exactly! Now, Aelita, you try to shake some good thoughts in Yumi; Odd, you try with William, I'll try with Ulrich" she walked towards the samurai and shook him.

"Ulrich, écoute-moi! C'est seulement un cachemar! Tu comprends? Ulrich!" **(A/N: Ulrich, listen to me! It's only a nightmare! Do you understand?)**

* * *

 _His cheek was hurting and he had been cornered; that's when he heard Layla's voice, telling him it was just a bad nightmare.  
_

 _"C'est X.A.N.A.! Tu comprends?" she added._

 _He had faith in her: he was one of he best friends, after all._ This happened four years ago. Yumi fell, but I know she's alright. William is on our side. It's just a nightmare...

 _Ulrich took a deep breath and ran out of the door of his room; instead of the stairway, he found himself back at Kadic with his friends. The brunette took another few deep breaths, and Yumi was running towards him, hugging him, while Layla was giving him the thumbs-up._ Pity this part is just a dream... _Ulrich thought, as he woke up with a start, just before the Skorpion's electric chords killed him._

* * *

Aelita bent down and whispered in the ninja's ear: "Yumi, this is just a bad dream: your parents are still together, even though they struggle; Ulrich despises Sissi, and you know it, and you falling in the Digital Sea that time was one of the worst days of his life. Yumi..." she looked at the chords, slowly tightening their grips on her. "I promise that you will never fall in the Digital Sea because of me or anyone else; I promise".

* * *

 _She felt like dying. The wave had nearly reached her. She was worried out of her skull...but then Aelita's whisper reached her, shook her, and she knew the truth._

 _She stopped running and let the waves submerge her; but she didn't feel anything, no pain, no coldness, nothing: she just felt herself standing in the Ice Sector, Aelita, Layla and Ulrich near her, and Ulrich smiling at her._

 _Her telekinesis glow disappeared as she was helped on her feet, and the first thing she did when she could stand without wobbling was hug Ulrich, happy to see him away from Miss Popularity._

* * *

 _William felt himself getting trapped in that jellyfish-like creature's tentacles, when five voices reached him._

 _"William!" they shouted. "This is a dream! We're here, alive! We're not dead! This is not real! Wake up!"_

 _William was relieved; but were these voices real?_

 _"If so" he said. "What does Layla think of me"_

 _A pause. William could feel something being implanted in his brain..._

 _"William, you're my friend; you're one of the dearest friends I could ever have; réveille-toi, s'il te plait!"_

 _That was good enough for William: he let the Scyphozoa finish him off, before waking up, his friends surrounding him._

* * *

An angry roar erupted throughout the land.

"The Skorpion!" Aelita screamed. "Don't let it hit you!"

"Aelita" Layla yelled. "There must be a tower somewhere controlling it: go with Odd and and Ulrich: we'll stay here"

Aelita nodded and headed off.

"Tower 65 degrees north and 12 degrees south: you can't miss it" Jeremy said, as the three ran towards it.

Meanwhile, Yumi and William were trying to keep the Skorpion busy, but it wasn't easy: its armor couldn't be pierced, and the Energy Waves from his steps looked very powerful.

Layla was too close to the monster: one step and she could die. Yumi went to the rescue, and pushed her out of the way, as the Energy Wave hit the ninja.

* * *

Yumi stepped out of the scanners, holding her stomach.

"I feel like I've been stabbed..." she murmured.

* * *

"Aelita, take cover: me and Ulrich will distract those Kamikaze!"

Apparently, X.A.N.A. didn't like the idea of destroying his creation: he had sent at least two dozens of exploding Kankrelats, and there was no way Aelita could get to the tower this way.

Ulrich and Odd were killing them one by one, until two of them crept behind them and exploded.

* * *

Ulrich and Odd came tumbling out of the scanner, one gasping for air, the other holding his head.

* * *

"Aelita, there's an open passage between you and the tower! Go for it!"

Aelita didn't have to be told twice.

* * *

"Layla!"

The Skorpion had hit her. The status bars rang in her head, before she blacked out:

Aelita: 100

Layla: 0 (!)

Odd: 0

Ulrich: 0

William: 10 **(A/N: They all had recovered a few life points when waking up from the Skorpion's trap)**

Yumi: 0

 _Was this what dying was? Everything blue? No, it wasn't: this was her nightmare. She waited patiently for it to happen...  
_

 _That's when, she heard it. The scream was horrible, piercing, as if someone was in pain._

 _She ran towards the owner of the scream: a shadow was on the round, flinching and bugging. It looked a bit like a human, but not quite; he was clutching desperately the ground, a few pixels of his avatar disappearing and appearing._

 _"Are...are you ok?" she asked, placing a hand on the shadow's shoulder._

 _It screamed again, and turned towards her. That's when she saw it: the eyes weren't normal, no, they carried the Symbol, which was on his suit and on his forehead. He was crying for help, bugging and buzzing for several seconds, before bursting in a shards of pixels._

 _Layla stared, unable to help or to think._

* * *

Aelita had arrived at the platform. It beeped when her foot touched it. She walked towards the center and a screen appeared; she put her and on it.

AELITA

She quickly digit the code Layla had told her.

CODE SKORPION.

She sighed, as the binary codes fell to the bottom. "Tower deactivated" she announced.

* * *

The Skorpion was about to swish his tail, when he stopped, and roared. He ran around in different circles, William laughing in the background, roaring for every single circle, until it stopped, shaking its head, and exploded.

William bent down to look at Layla: the chords had disappeared, but her eyes were still closed

* * *

Everyone, apart from the two geniuses, was in the Laboratory, talking about their nightmares. Jeremy, meanwhile, was working on a program with Aelita.

"So, X.A.N.A. is stronger than before?" the pinkette asked.

"Not really" Jeremy answered. "The power source was enough to keep him alive, but it also gave him new abilities instead of giving him more strengh; I still don't know where that source is..."

"He hid it well..." Aelita murmured, while looking at the screen.

Layla was the only one doing nothing: she laid in a corner, shaking like a leaf; with her luck, everyone would think it was because of the traumatic experience with the ghastly beast.

"What about you, Layla?" asked William, suddenly. "What did you dream?"

"Maybe Odd flirting with a girl" Yumi, joked, getting an Evil Eye from the blond.

Layla mumbled something about childhood memories and kept shaking.

This was so wrong. She was a Lyoko Warrior. She fought X.A.N.A.. This was impossible...

"Layla, what's wrong?" Odd wrapped an arm around the shaking Tamer. What did she had that made him guess everything that she was thinking about?

She burst into tears. "It's awful!" she said. Odd didn't investigate any further, and proceeded in drying her tears instead.

Again, she was a Lyoko Warrior. X.A.N.A. was her worse enemy. Then why did she feel so sad and...and... _attached_ in that dream?

Her worst nightmare, the most horrible thing that could happen to her, which would tear her heart apart.. _.was X.A.N.A. dying?_

* * *

 **DUN DUN DUN!  
**

 **Super Mystery Of The Week!**

 **So, today, for anyone who would like to know, on TV there was "Frontier" and "The Robots"; so, next Monday it would be "Zero Gravity" and...hehehehe**

 **Yumi/Ulrich: *blush and avoid eye contact***

 **Aelita: Why? what's episode 22 about?**

 **Yumi/Ulrich: *resemble tomatoes* NOTHING.**

 **SecreCodeLyokan: Anyway, to those who didn't understand or wanted to confirm, here's the Lyoko Warriors' fears I put in the dreams:**

 **Layla: Well, I told you at the end, so... SUPER MYSTERY OF THE WEEK!**

 **Odd: Being humiliated in front of the whole school, no food, Layla dying, (yeah, Oddlita and other Oddx? people, DEAL WITH IT!) being rejected by his best friends**

 **Ulrich: Vertigo, Xanafied William, (I read in some fanfic he had nightmares about him, so I thought 'Why not?') Yumi falling in the Digital Sea, Yumi rejecting him, that memory.**

 **William: Spiders, (we all knew that) X.A.N.A., being rejected by the Lyoko Warriors, Yumi dying, Layla dying, (I picked Layla randomly) the Scyphozoa.**

 **Yumi: The Digital Sea, her parents divorcing, Ulrich rejecting Yumi, Ulrich going out with Sissi ( _who_ wouldn't say that's a nightmare? No offense to any fans)**

 **William: I'll never sleep the same ever again!  
**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Chill, it's just a bit of spiders...**

 ***big, fat spider crawls out***

 **SecretCodeLyokan/William: *SCEAM!***

 **Odd: *holding remote and videocamera* I'm gonna put this on YouTube...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Odd, just wait until I get my hands on you! Now, next episode...*checks list and gasps* Well, well, well..."Secrets, Diaries and Hearts", in which a few jealousy and pointless arguments leave Aelita and Layla the only ones able to go to Lyoko! So expect lots of fights and a few 'What the HECK are you doing!'s.**

 **Ulrich: *reads script* WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING, ULRICH! THAT'S REALLY STUPID OF YOU!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: See?**

 **'Till the next time!**


	9. Ep 8: Secrets, Diaries and Hearts

**So, long time no see, guys !**

 **So, before I answer my reviews and start this episode, I warn you that this is super long and it might not be my best work, since today, like I said last time, Episode 21 and 22 (*coughcough*) were on air, and I kinda get crazy when it's about that last one...no further comment.  
**

* * *

 _ **Review Answers:**_

 _ **Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: I'm always nervous around Kamikaze Hornets, I don't know why: maybe it's the fact that they drain my HP, yet they're easy to destroy…I'll probably add them further on, but I'm still not sure about the Volcanoids...**_

 _ **Gracekim1: Hey there! I'm glad you're enjoying my fan fic! And I'll certainly considerate the X.A.N.A. attack you suggested.**_

 _ **Josh Xana: I did say I based it on an episode from the first season; and I'm glad you enjoyed it.**_

 _ **Jyuoa: Thanks for the compliment. I had originally thought of having something similar to a Guardian to trap them and give them nightmares and include the Skorpion in later episodes, but then I thought about it and I convinced myself that it would've been more original for the monster to have that power; plus, I just had to give this big guy a really important and dangerous role.**_

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Humph!**

 **Odd: What's wrong with her? She's been sulking for at least an hour…**

 **Jeremy: Maybe lack of sleep? She** _ **did**_ **came home from the cinema at two in the morning…**

 **Aelita: JEREMY! *attack hug* Where have you been?**

 **Jeremy: Working…**

 **Aelita: How about we hang out after this episode?**

 **Jeremy: Sure!**

 **Layla: *lightly punches SecretCodeLyokan on the shoulder, then feels her pulse* I believe I know what's going on…**

 **Odd: Nightmares?**

 **Layla: *rolls eyes* 'San Andreas' doesn't really give you nightmares 80% of the time.**

 **Odd: What about the other 20%?**

 **Layla: Well…it does.**

 **Jeremy: Are those facts true?**

 **Aelita: Nada.**

 **Jeremy: Then, I'll work on it later.**

 **Aelita: I'll help you. *kisses cheek***

 **Jeremy: *blushes like a ripe tomato***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *gives them the Evil Eye* HUMPH!**

 **Odd: She'll turn into a camel if she keeps 'humphing'.**

 **Layla: As I was saying, I know what's wrong with her: she's suffering a case of 'Memory Frustration'.**

 **Odd: Meaning?**

 **Layla: Her memory is used to memorize piece by piece Episode 22 if left for maximum an hour thinking about it; since this episode isn't related to 22, her memory will probably forget the whole thing and she'll have to re-watch it to memorize it again. This causes her to 'humph' in frustration.**

 **Odd: What's the problem with re-watching it?**

 **Aelita: Even though she likes that episode, she isn't one of these people who would re-watch it twice in one day…at least most of the time.**

 **Odd: Ah, I see.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *sighs and looks away***

 **Layla: Oh no!**

 **Odd: Don't tell me she's got the 'Daily** _ **thing**_ **-whatever that is-Frustration'!**

 **Aelita: Huh?**

 **Jeremy: SecretCodeLyokan is thinking about whatever happened in that episode; it can make her extremely…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *breaks into sobs for no reason***

 **Jeremy: …mood swingy.**

 **Layla: Someone give her some medicine! *SecretCodeLyokan is carried to the emergency room***

 **Odd: Speaking of Episode 22, where are Yumi and Ulrich?**

 **Layla: *shrugs* Sleeping? Avoiding SecretCodeLyokan?**

 **Aelita: Whatever the case, we must get to our places; RING THE BELL!**

 **Odd: *rings the bell, while everyone gets to their places* Wait: what about the disclaimer?**

 **Layla: *stops for a second* they all know that stuff: SecretCodeLyokan doesn't own Code Lyoko, she just owns the plot and 99% of episode ideas of this fan fic and me...don't worry about it and get to your place! *grabs two phones and dials two numbers* WAKE UP SLEEPY HEADS! IT'S TIME!**

 **Yumi/Ulrich: Frak! I'm late! *hangs up***

 **Odd: *waves at the readers* So, ready for a bit of Drama? Here it is!**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 8: Secrets, Diaries and Hearts**

* * *

" _Help! Help!"_

 _She heard a voice screaming in the forest; running towards it, she tripped on her feet and fell on the hard virtual ground. A black figure ran towards the voice, which was coming from the edge of the Forest Sector._

" _Erica, take my hand!" the figure knelt down._

 _She came towards it, and saw a dark-haired boy holding his hand out to a long, brown-haired girl who was grasping a branch a few centimeters below; they were both in their Lyoko outfits, which seemed vaguely familiar…_

 _She knew the girl-Erica, right?- had small chances to reach the boy's hand without falling; why didn't they devirtualize her? Were the scanners off-line?_

 _The boy turned his head for a second, when he heard a shot and a scream in the distance._

" _ERICA!" A girl with orange hair ran towards the boy, looking at her friend grasping the branch for dear life. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of there"_

We? _The watcher had a feeling that there were more people on Lyoko._

" _Please, use your wings" the boy begged to the other friend._

 _In his eyes was burning a desperate flame, and he was pleading for help, powerless to save Erica. Only Ulrich, the watcher remembered, had had such a flame, and that was when Yumi jumped in the Digital Sea…Wait. Did that mean that…_

 _The girl had her hands clutched into fists, and she concentrated, but the wings appeared for half a second before disappearing again._

" _I can't" she croaked. "I don't…"_

 _The boy didn't give up: he glowed for a few seconds, and Erica did too, as she was slowly brought near the ground._

 _Just when it seemed like the girl was out of danger, someone shot the boy; he lost control of his telekinesis and Erica fell, but managed to grab the branch again._

" _Please try it!" he pleaded to the orange-haired.  
_

 _The girl stared at the ground. "I'll try, but I don't think I'll make any progress…" she knelt down and glowed red._

 _Erica rose up again, but a Krabe knocked out the orange-haired, causing her to lose her influence on her friend._

" _ERICA!" the boy screamed, grabbing her in time. He held her tightly, but she was still slipping._

" _It's no use" she yelled over the noise of the battle in the distance, which was closer than before: you could see a few figures fighting monsters in the distance._

" _Don't say that!" the boy shouted. "You'll come out alive of this mess, whenever you like it or not!"_

" _Yan, use your brain!" she shouted back. "You've lost too many life points: if you use your telekinesis for such a struggle, it might drain what little that's left!"_

" _At least you would be safe"_

" _To what cause? Either I fall in the Sea, or I get devirtualized forever by X.A.N.A.'s monsters"_

 _Deep in his heart, he knew she was right: with the scanners off-line and her hand slipping, she was either dying shot by lasers or by falling in the pale yellow Sea below him. They all knew that it was really unlikely that anyone of them survived; still, he didn't want her to leave so quickly…_

 _Yan felt her small fingers: now Erica was one step from death's door. She used her other hand to grab something on her belt; a_ cling _was heard, as the brown-haired laid on the edge of the Sector a shiny weapon._

 _She stared at the boy, invisible tears stinging her eyes._

" _I love you" Erica said, as she slipped from his grasp…_

* * *

"Layla!"

The orange-haired woke up from her dream and blushed deep red when she realized she had just fallen asleep in class. _That sad dream again…_

"Pardon, monsieur; I just had a rough night…" she apologized, flipping through her notes.

She noticed that Yumi, who was sitting next to her, was busy writing on a black notebook with pink flowers on the cover.

"Yumi, pourquoi tu es en train d'écrire dans ton journal en classe?" she asked the ninja, startling her a bit.

Yumi stared at her. "How do you know that it's my…"

"Call it a female intuition" Layla shrugged. "Anyway, I repeat in English: why are you writing in your diary in class?"

Yumi started to think about a plausible excuse, but the orange-haired was giving her a 'don't you dare lie to me' look which was so threatening that it scared her a bit.

So she simply said the truth: "I just had something I wanted to write about and I couldn't wait" she sighed, and continued writing.

Layla tried really hard to be a good friend and to not look, but curiosity got the better of her and she stole a peek:

* * *

 _I'm still having nightmares. Similar to the ones I had when the Skorpion caught me: I'm about to drown in the Digital Sea and Ulrich just sits and watches, smirking._

 _The thing that hurts the most about the dream is that he doesn't do anything, unlike the time I really fell, or on Saint Valentine's Day, or that time in the Desert Sector, when we nearly…_

* * *

Layla paused her reading and nearly jumped on her seat. _So the photo didn't lie_ She thought with a small smile.

* * *

 _Sometimes, I would give anything to go back to that day and finished what never happened...to be able to kiss him and wipe whatever fight we had further on…to be able to return to the past at that time, or the time I told him to be 'just friends'…_

* * *

Layla stopped reading: these thoughts were starting to get personal, and the last thing she wanted to do was invade her privacy. Ok, technically, she had already invaded it, but still…

 _Still, thoee thoughts could be the missing piece of the jigsaw_ she thought, as the bell rang.

* * *

"Hi, Yumi! Hi, William! Hi Layla !" Odd waved to the three older teens.

Their four friends were sitting on the usual benches near the Administration building, Ulrich staring blankly at the sky, Aelita and Jeremy talking about a film they had seen last night and Odd listening to his MP3.

"So, how was Italian class?" William asked Jeremy, already knowing the answer.

Surprisingly, Jeremy didn't say anything: he just blushed deep crimson and stared at the dispenser machine.

From a stranger's point of view, it could've looked like he was in love with the useless, broken piece of metal.

"What did I say?" William asked Odd, who was laughing while Aelita was trying to bring her favorite genius back to reality.

"Don't worry, it's nothing" Odd wiped a tear from his cheek. "Just that Einstein confused a few words today"

"Really?" Yumi sat on the bench near Ulrich, curious. "Tell us"

"Well" Odd started. "Einstein had decided to ask Aelita out in Italian, and we spent weeks on this phrase; I don't understand why or how, but he made a mistake and said: "Aelita, would you kill for me the fried fish?' The worst part? He said it aloud!"

The three teens laughed quietly, to avoid hurting their friends' feelings. Still, Yumi noticed that Ulrich hadn't laughed or spoke since she got here.

"Ulrich, is something wrong?" she shook him gently. He didn't say anything. She shook him again: nothing.

"Odd? What's wrong with him?" Layla asked her crush. Odd sighed and walked away, before returning five minutes later with the school newspaper.

"Do you remember yesterday, when Ulrich lost a few pages from one of his diaries and couldn't find them anywhere? Well, today we found them on his bed drawer, with this" he gave them the newspaper and they all gasped: there was a whole page dedicated to Ulrich's darkest secrets!

"Who would do such a thing?" Layla asked. Bad, bad thing to say…

"What do you mean, 'who would do such a thing'?" The brunette asked, suddenly resembling a very angry bull. "You're the director: you should know better…"

The orange-haired backed away a few steps.

"Ulrich, I would never steal your diary, let alone rip the pages; and if I found any of these items, do you think I wouldn't have given it back?" she said, shaking a bit.

The brunette walked towards her, his eyes erupting flames. "But whatever happens on the Kadic News is _your_ responsibility; Milly and Tamiya could've done it, alright, but you didn't even stopped them!"

A wall blocked her backwards walk. "I was busy with Lyoko, so I left them in charge for a whole day; someone probably handed them the pages, and…"

"IT'S STILL YOUR FAULT!" Ulrich screamed, and literally pounced on her.

Layla screamed and did the first thing that came into her head: she put her right arm on her left wrist and shouted: "Laser Arrow!", as a shiny item fired from her knuckles hit her 'aggressor' on the shoulder, and he fell.

Yumi ran towards him, examining the wound: it wasn't that bad and the Laser Arrow hadn't done more that a cut that could be easily cured, but it could've been worse. She extracted the shiny edge and threw it on the ground, then helped him stand up and walk towards the infirmary.

* * *

"I'm such a jerk!"

They were at the infirmary, where, after Ulrich had been medicated, they had voted for who should go and talk to him; Yumi had won, and now she was trying to convince him Layla didn't had anything to do with the diary thing.

Meanwhile, Odd was listening to 'Planet Net' on his MP3, Jeremy and Aelita were working on Layla's Scan results and William had given up trying to calm Layla down, who was pacing like her life depended on it.

"I fired a Laser Arrow! To Ulrich! And in public! Someone could've seen it!" she exclaimed.

"Layla, no one saw it; and even if they did, Jeremy would've launched a Return To The Past…"

The tamer interrupted William. "What if the Laser Arrow had given him major injuries? What if he had died? What if I had hit him in the chest? What if I…"

Odd stood up suddenly and grabbed her by her hands, starting a little dance while singing:

 _ **We're going live,**_

 _ **We're surfin' to these vibes.**_

 _ **One brand new world**_

 _ **To be uncoiled; are you there?**_

 _ **I got a message to send, are you there?**_

 _ **I want to find a brand new friend**_

He gave her an earphone to listen to the music; Layla smiled, before joining in:

 _ **One simple connection**_

 _ **And my computer helps me travel far;**_

 _ **So much information,**_

 _ **With my webcam I see who you are.**_

 _ **We represent the youth of today,**_

 _ **Making the most of modern technology;**_

 _ **We are united in every way,**_

 _ **We will change the course of history.**_

 _ **Such good friends 'till the end.**_

 _ **We're going live,**_

 _ **We're surfin' to these vibes.**_

 _ **One brand new world**_

 _ **To be uncoiled. Are you there?**_

 _ **I got a message to send, are you there?**_

 _ **I want to find a brand new-**_

They sang the chorus again, before bowing to their small audience.

"Thanks for admiring Layla Carthago, this beautiful friend of mine" Odd said, as the door of the infirmary opened, revealing Yumi and Ulrich.

"Layla, Ulrich here would like to speak to you in private"

* * *

"I apologize for my behavior" Ulrich told Layla.

They were at the entry of the Administration Building, while the rest of the Lyoko Warriors were waiting for them outside near the benches.

"Don't worry, Ulrich" Layla put a hand on his unhurt shoulder. "You were mad and you thought I had betrayed you; it's ok to be like this. Anyway, I wanted to tell you something important"

Ulrich turned pale. "You're not asking me out, are you?" he said.

Layla frowned. "What the heck are you talking…" then she facepalmed: recently, one of Odd's exes, jealous of Layla, had been spreading a rumor about how the teen was madly in love with Ulrich and was spending time with the hybrid to get more information about the samurai.

Ulrich smirked. "Just checking; plus, you fell for it" **(A/N: I repeat: there's** _ **not**_ **going to be any UlrichxLayla romance)**

Layla frowned. "Anyway, my dear samurai, I wanted to talk about Yumi"

"What about her?" The brunette asked. "She's not going out with William, right?"

The tamer shook her head and giggled. "You should see your face!"

Ulrich ignored her. "So, what about Yumi?"

Layla held her breath for a few seconds, before answering, calmly: "You should ask man up and Yumi out _right now!_ "

Ulrich's jaw dropped open. "WHAT!?" he exclaimed.

Layla crossed her arms. "I have proof that clearly states that she wouldn't refuse if you asked her"

"Are you sure?"

"Sure as it's real that Aelita has a crush on Jeremy"

But Ulrich wouldn't give up that easily. "But, seriously? Like, one hundred percent sure?"

"I'm _t_ _wo_ hundred percent sure"

"You checked all the details?"

"Twice"

Actually, Layla hadn't checked these 'details', but it was clear as a crystal that Yumi had a not-so-secret crush on the German boy standing in front of the tamer, so…

"You sure you didn't make any mistakes?"

"Positive"

"Really?"

At this point, Layla had had enough. "If you think I'm lying, then read her diary!" she yelled at him, storming off.

* * *

Ulrich walked towards the classroom, thinking about what he said. _I just wanted to be sure._ he thought. _Still, she's right: why would Layla lie to me or to anyone, for all that matters?_

He ignored the lesson, still thinking about what she said:

" _If you think I'm lying, then read her diary!"_

That's when it hit him like a thunderbolt: Layla had read a piece of her diary! Did that mean that…that the ninja had feelings for him?

Ulrich looked at the clock above the door: five minutes until Yumi's class…

 _No, you idiot, she'll never forgive you if she caught you!_ A little voice screamed in his head.

 _But I can't go on without knowing…_ he said to the voice.

 _You're really an airhead! Why on Earth would Layla lie to you?_

 _Because she was jealous?_

 _And Bloks might fly!_

He silenced the voice and stared at the clock again. His arm shot upwards before he could stop it.

* * *

No one in sight. Perfect. Yumi had left for the dispenser machine, her bag lying unguarded on the ground. Fantastic.

Ulrich dashed towards it and rummaged through it, before she came back. He searched for a bit, until he found a black notebook with pink cherry flowers on it.

 _Bingo!_

He ran to a bench and stroked the cover, hesitating for a bit; he was about to open it when suddenly froze.

Wha was he doing? Was it even worth it? Of course, if he knew, he won't suffer the blow of a reject, or he would know she was waiting, but, again, was it worth it? To open a diary, a girl's most precious possession, just to check if a friend was lying or not?

 _It's not worth it._ He thought, stroking the cover again.

He walked back to the black bag, and attempted to slip the book back in, but a voice stopped him. He cursed when he realized who it was.

 _What did I do to deserve this?_ He thought, suddenly having the unstoppable desire to bash his head on a tree.

* * *

While Ulrich was having troubles of his own, Odd and Jeremy were talking about what Jeremy liked to call his 'Worst Embarrassment During An Italian Lesson Ever' or 'W.E.D.A.I.L.E.', according to Odd.

"C'mon, things like that happen: my sister Adele as once trying to charm her boyfriend's Finnish parents and ended saying something she shouldn't have" Odd chuckled at that memory.

Jeremy gave him a hard stare. "Yeah, but now Aelita can't speak to me without giggling"

"So? You just need more practice; look at me, for instance: had I been in love with Aelita, with my high grades in Italian I would have her at my feet"

For some reason, that got into Jeremy's nerves. "You know, not every girl gets charmed by your language"

"I'm not saying that I charm every girl; I'm just saying what could happen if I was you; though, speaking of charm, you'd better hurry up: every single guy in our grade seems to like her and they all have talents you don't…"

Then, Odd did something he shouldn't have: he flicked his pencil to point at everyone, but pointed at himself too by mistake. Jeremy somehow got madder at that.

"So you admit you're superior and you can charm Aelita whenever you please?" the genius asked the hybrid, his voice a bit louder.

Odd looked at his friend in shock. "Cool it, Einstein, no one's admitting anything; I was just saying that, you know, you're not her property or her boyfriend…"

Jeremy stood up. "So you think you can steal her away with a flick of your hands?"

Odd stared at his cold blue eyes. "I have Layla, I don't need you 'girlfriend'"

"Well, you'd better stay away from her!"

"See? That's what I mean: you act like if she's your property…"

Jeremy pushed his seat, much to the students' (especially Aelita) shock. Odd stood up and smacked the genius. Jeremy stepped on his foot.

Soon, the two were quarreling like insane Krabes, and poor Aelita didn't even understood why.

* * *

"Two hours of detention after school! I don't know the meaning of this fight and I don't want to know it, but this is what you got from it!" the principal bellowed, as Jeremy and Odd left the room, where Layla and William were waiting from them with a sad and confused Aelita.

"What's wrong with you?" William asked Jeremy.

"Ask your rival!" the genius spat.

Odd stopped suddenly. "My WHAT?!" he turned to William, then to Layla, then back to William. "I thought you had a crush on Yumi!"

William looked at him confused. "Yeah, so?"

Odd stared at him with fiery eyes. "What's with you and Layla, huh?"

Layla was even more confused. "Odd, what are talking about?"

"I'm talking about this 'tall, dark and handsome' dude you call a 'friend'"

Layla facepalmed. "As if those stupid rumors about me and Ulrich weren't enough…"

Odd took a few steps towards William. "Listen to me, pretty guy, I don't know what the big deal is, but if you try and make a move on her, I'll suck the life out of you!"

William threw his hands up in the air. "What is it with this story of me having a crush on Layla? We're just friends, that's all"

"That phrase I hear a lot of times, and most of the time it isn't true!" the hybrid snapped.

"So what if I had a crush on her? You're still not her boyfriend!"

Aelita rolled her eyes at the two quarreling boys. _Here we go again…_

"Aha! So you admit it!"

"What's wrong with you today? I don't like her that way"

"They all say that!"

"Listen, cat-boy…" William started, but Odd tackled him before he could even speak.

Two minutes during their fist fight, Jim walked in and caught them red-handed.

"Dunbar! Della Robbia! You ought to be ashamed!" The gym teacher yelled, separating the two.

"He started it!" They both exclaimed.

"You'll explain that to the principal" Jim said, taking them in the office while Layla facepalmed, Jeremy shrugged and Aelita raised her head and asked her father up there if she and her friends had done anything that made God unhappy, thus their problems.

"Unfortunately, princess" the tamer said, as they walked out of the Administration Building. "I think this is their brains' doing, not God's or X.A.N.A.'s"

Aelita sighed and prayed silently an apology.

"Speaking of crushes, where are Yumi and Ulrich?"

Layla sighed, as she shoved her hand in her jacket pocket and touched the phone which had rung a few minutes earlier.

"Ulrich is probably in some stage between killing himself and going to an asylum, while Yumi is in a stage in which you could identify her as an atomic bomb or as an axe murderer"

* * *

While Jeremy, Odd and William were fighting, near the dispenser machine, a World War was starting:

"ULRICH, DON'T YOU DARE DENY IT!"

"I SWEAR, I DIDN'T READ IT!"

"IT'S NOT ABOUT READING IT OR NOT! IT'S ABOUT RESPECTING PRIVACY!"

"BUT I DIDN'T EVEN READ IT!"

"YOU PRIED IN MY BAG!"

"I PRIED IN YOUR WARDROBE WHEN YOU MISSED PICTURE DAY BECAUSE OF…"

"SHUT UP! DO YOU WANT TO SPILL OUR SECRET TO THE WHOLE WORLD?"

"LOWER YOUR VOICE!"

" _YOU_ LOWER YOUR VOICE!"

Luckily, no one was there to listen to them, so their screams echoed in the distance without fear of being heard by the wrong ears.

"I RETRIEVED YOUR DIARY THAT ONE TIME, BUT I DIDN'T READ IT!"

"WELL, YOU'VE CERTAINLY LEARNED YOUR LESSON THAT TIME WHEN HIROKI STOLE IT!"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY!"

"FOR WHAT? NOT READING YOUR DIARY?"

"JUST SHUT UP!"

Yumi was red as an apple from rage, and Ulrich was yelling because her tone made him do so. He wished he could've slipped her diary quickly without her noticing, or at least check what she was doing before he crept towards the bag…but whoever was watching over him really despised him; but then again, which grown-up didn't? Maybe Franz Hopper, but he was dead…

"Ok, I'll try to explain it to you, Ulrich" Said Yumi, taking a few deep breaths while lowering her tone. Then, she stared at his eyes coldly, while stabbing his chest with her finger. "You _stole_ my diary! I don't care if you read it-God help you if you did!-or not, but you _stole_ it! What were you thinking? Did you wanted to know what I think about William? Or Layla? Or Aelita? Or Odd? Or Jeremy? Or you? Did you wanted to know details about my life? I don't care why the heck you did it: you stole it, and that's a sign of dis-respect to me; do I need to go further or did you get the message?"

Yumi bent down to pick up her bag, while Ulrich just stayed there, hands shoved in his pockets with a frown on his face.

She stared in his eyes again. Those brown, chocolate eyes that she liked so much. Those eyes which had pried her privacy…

"Ulrich, you're my friend and I respect you" she said, still coldly. "But you should learn to look from other people's point of views"

As she was about to leave, Ulrich mumbled: "I should've trusted Layla about your diary, anyway"

Unfortunately, Yumi heard him and stormed off, while pulling her phone out.

It was then that, in the quietness of the courtyard, Ulrich facepalmed and shouted a really bad word.

* * *

The chaos had threatened the gang's stability. Five members were angry with each other and the other two for numerous reasons:

Jeremy was angry at Odd because of what he said and because of his detention, at William because he didn't kill the hybrid, at Aelita because she won't pick sides, at Layla because she was paying more attention to William and Odd's fight than Odd and his, and at Yumi and Ulrich because they were arguing for the millionth time again.

Odd was angry at Jeremy because of him overreacting and because of his two hours of detention, at William because of his extra two hours of detention and because he hated him swarming around Layla, at Aelita because she didn't understand, at Layla because she didn't say anything, and at Yumi and Ulrich because they were arguing for some stupid reason and because he was in a bad mood.

William was angry at Jeremy for what he said that caused the fight between him and Odd, at Odd because of his hours of detention and his stupid jealousy, at Aelita and Layla because they didn't even comfort him, at Yumi because she was in a bad mood thanks to Ulrich, and at the brunette because he had started the quarrel between him and the ninja.

Yumi was angry at Jeremy, Odd and William because of their stupid nature and jealousy, at Layla because she had read a piece of her diary and made her quarrel with Ulrich, at Aelita because she stood there doing nothing, and at Ulrich because he stole her diary.

Ulrich was angry at Jeremy and Odd because their quarrels were stupid, at William because he had told the samurai it was all his fault Yumi was mad, at Layla because she drove him in this mess in the first place, at Aelita because she didn't do anything, and at Yumi because of her overreacting.

The only people who weren't mad at each other were Aelita and Layla, even though they didn't really got along well with the five atomic bombs in front of them.

It was nearly lunchtime and Aelita was proposing a friendly meal, when Layla's PC started beeping.

She opened it and gritted her teeth. "X.A.N.A.'s attacking Lyoko Reign: he's trying to activate the Way Towers's source of power" she closed the laptop and looked at her friends.

"So, anyone volunteers?"

Silence. Then...

"Jeremy needs to go with you; plus, he needs to cool off a bit" Odd spat.

"What about you, Casanova?" William shouted at the hybrid.

"No; I'll leave you the honor to go out with Layla for a while"

"You three should stop already!" Yumi yelled at them.

"Look who's talking" Ulrich said loudly enough for her to hear.

Aelita facepalmed, as Layla dragged her away. "We'll let them cool off a bit; when they'll get over this, they'll call or come" she walked into the forest, searching for the manhole.

* * *

"So, basically, we go to Sector 5, get the Skid, go to Lyoko Reign, fight the monsters attacking the tower and we go home?" Layla asked Aelita, when they were in the Scanner Room.

"Piece of cake" the pinkette said.

"Don't count on it: X.A.N.A. would probably send his strongest army, and we have half an hour before the tower is possessed" Layla smirked, as the door closed and the familiar feeling spread all over her body.

* * *

Jeremy was sitting on a table at the end of the cafeteria, eating slowly; the others hadn't been so lucky: the only seats they could find were five of the same table.

Halfway through her meal, Yumi stepped outside and dumped what she didn't eat in the bin.

"Why don't you chase her?" Odd mumbled.

Ulrich shrugged. "Why should I? She should apologize for overreacting"

Odd facepalmed. "But you were the one who stole the diary in the first place!"

"Well, you were the one who made both William and Jeremy mad"

Odd remained silent after that.

* * *

"Don't you think they're all overreacting a bit?" Aelita asked Layla from the cockpit.

Layla sighed. "I'd say a lot: Odd, Jeremy and William are both mad because of a stupid misunderstanding and Yumi exploded when she discovered about her diary"

Aelita shrugged. "Still, they should peace out a bit: it's useless"

"Speaking of peacing out…" Layla looked at the Digital Sea. "X.A.N.A. doesn't look very glad to see us"

Aelita slid her fingers over a lever. "Release" she said, as Layla called for backup on her keyboard.

In front of the Skid, they saw three Suckers, two Sharks and five Kongre (sp?).

"Coucou, le poisson!" the tamer waved from her now-free Navskid, as three Kongre (sp?) and three Sharks appeared as backup. "Get 'em, boys!"

* * *

Odd stood up from his seat and went to dump his empty tray in the garbage can.

"Ulrich" he said, as the brunette joined him. "I heard someone say that Yumi was really upset; you should really go talk to her"

Ulrich sighed and dumped his tray with a _tump!_ In the bin. "Ok, I'll go find her; but you have to apologize to both William and Jeremy"

Odd hesitated, then shrugged. "Fine; if it takes this to make you go and make up with Yumi…" he walked towards the genius's table, trying to figure out the best approach.

* * *

"Ouais! Huit à zero pour moi!" the tamer screamed, as the eighth monster exploded behind her.

"Don't get too cocky: you've still got two…" Aelita started, but stopped when the Digital Sea turned blue again. The Navskid swam towards her.

"You were saying, Princess?" she asked, laughing.

Aelita laughed too. "Get back in place: twenty minutes left until the Way Towers are possessed" she said, as she slid the small lever again.

They swam towards Lyoko Reign now in sight, and opened the door.

Aelita looked at the monsters attacking the tower: ten Creepers, ten Hornets, ten Kamikaze, a Megatank and ten Krabes.

"How are we going to stop them?" Aelita asked, a bit worried. Layla typed a few codes on the keyboard.

"With our own army" the tamer answered, as her five monster friends plus other twenty-five appeared. "We'll stay here while they fight; if things get bad, we energize"

Aelita admired her friend's intelligence.

* * *

"Jeremy?" Odd made his way towards the blond genius. He stared at the hybrid as he sat down across him, but didn't say a word.

Odd twirled his fingers nervously, thinking of his best approach, when Jeremy spoke for him: "I'm…I'm sorry I lost my temper today" he murmured.

Odd stared at him still nervously. "And…and I'm sorry about saying that thing; I shouldn't…"

Jeremy laughed. "Odd, don't worry, it was my fault we fought in the first place" he said. Odd smiled.

"I'm happy you think it that way, 'cause I didn't know what to say"

They both laughed and went towards William's table.

* * *

"We won't make it, Layla!"

Things had gone critical, and Aelita and Layla were forced out of the Skid, while the tamer kept materializing monsters.

"We will" she said, firing at a Creeper. "I think that, to stop them, you must enter the tower: once there, you'll have to type the Code Restore to chase X.A.N.A. away from the weak thing"

"How do you know this stuff?"

"PC" Layla answered, flicking her whip.

Aelita wondered if that was true.

* * *

It was raining outside. Ulrich was completely soaked from head to toe.

 _If I discover Odd tricked me…_ the brunette thought, but was interrupted by a weird sound over the rain. He listened carefully: the sound was coming from a bench nearby.

He walked towards it and gasped: there, sitting on a bench, completely soaked and sobbing quietly, was the girl which made his heart beat like a drum every time she smiled at him.

"Yumi…" he murmured. The girl didn't move. He sat on the wet bench and tapped her shoulder. This startled her and she jerked her head at him.

"U-Ulrich" she shivered. "W-what are you doing here? I-it's raining…" she shivered again.

"Here" he took off his soaked jacket and wrapped it around her. It wasn't much, but to her it meant everything.

He looked in her dark eyes and blushed a little when he realized he was real close.

She jerked her head away, ashamed, and tugged on one of the sleeves.

They stayed like that for what looked like an hour, the rain soaking them and tapping on the cafeteria windows, where all of the students remained until better weather.

Brushing a black and wet lock behind her ear, Yumi was the first to say it:

"Ulrich, I'm…I'm sorry for overreacting"

* * *

"Layla, are you sure this would work?" the pinkette asked her friend.

"Trust me, Aelita" Layla nodded. She then pounced at a Krabe, keeping it distracted while Kamikaze jumped up and down, trying to reach her.

Aelita took advantage of this and entered the tower. The platform brightened at her feet, while she reached the center and levitated on top.

After a backflip to move backwards, she stepped on the upper platform, which beeped lightly. A screen appeared when Aelita was at the center. The pinkette put her hand on it.

AELITA

She typed the code Layla had told her about.

CODE RESTORE

The tower kicked her out, as a weird sound told her that X.A.N.A. was getting kicked out too.

Layla had fend off all of the monsters away, and now she waited for Aelita.

"So, the good news is, X.A.N.A. won't be bothering us" Layla assured the pinkette. "The bad news is, the weather reports of the Supercomputer indicate a bad storm: we might have to wait a bit before returning to Kadic"

Aelita nodded, as the tamer energized them both back in.

* * *

Ulrich stared at Yumi. "You're sorry?" he repeated.

She nodded. "I'm sorry I overreacted; I was just worried you had read my diary" she wrapped the jacket closer.

"Are you sure you don't need it?" the ninja asked.

Ulrich nodded gently took one of her hands.

"Yumi" he said to her. "If there's one thing I know about your diary, is that I would never read it without your permission; and…"

"And…" she stared in his deep brown eyes.

He sighed. "I'm sorry I stole your diary"

She jokily gave him a punch. "You're just saying that!"

"No, I mean it: I'm sorry"

"I know when you're lying, Ulrich"

"Fine: I said it to please you; happy?"

She just stared at his eyes: she always loved how deep, caring, stern and mysterious they looked. They were the eyes she had fallen in love with.

He looked at hers: her eyes were dark brown, nearly black maybe, and they were so enigmatic, as if invisible and encrypted thoughts rushed through them like a stream; he longed to know what they were thinking.

They both didn't know for sure what was going on; the only thing they knew is that they were in some kind of trance, Yumi was blushing like a ripe tomato because of the small distance between them, and Ulrich was pondering about making his move or not.

The 'make a move' part won.

The two slowly started to close what small distance they had, hardly realizing what was happening.

A flashback played in Yumi's mind:

* * *

 **YUMI POV (A/N: I kept writing the thing in first person, so I thought to make the whole flashback like that)**

 _I was in the Desert Sector; I remember that day: X.A.N.A. had bugged up the devirtualization program and if we lost all of our life points, we would've was also the day me and Ulrich had had an argument about Emily, this girl he was hanging out with.  
_

 _Anyway, Ulrich told us that he and Odd will fight the Megatanks, while I fought the Krabe. Before he ran to fight, I tried to tell him I was sorry about the whole Emily thing, but no words came out; but I could tell that he understood._

 _"Be careful" he told me._

 _"You too" I said, before he went away._

 _I fought the Krabe, which had sneaked on me and shot me, and I managed to kill it, but the explosion sent me off the edge._

 _I could hear Ulrich shout my name as I screamed, already feeling the cold water of my greatest fear wrap around me...then, I noticed I had stopped falling._

 _I looked up and saw him: my best friend, my crush, and whatever else he meant to me clutching desperately my hand, saving me for the first time and not for the last._

 _"Don't worry; I got you" he said. I just smiled. He pulled me up._

 _"Ulrich, I…" I started, as I stepped on the ground, but somehow I tripped and landed in his arms instead, much to my embarrassment and surprise. We were really close...too close...  
_

 _Time suddenly stopped. Nothing mattered anymore: the tower, Odd struggling with his Megatank, Aelita, nothing. Only one thing mattered..._

 _Our eyes met, and for a moment I felt as if he was wondering the same thing. I was uncomfortable and backed away; but something told me to stop: his eyes. Our eyes were somehow transmitting each other some kind of message. Even though it was impossible, I could feel my heart beat faster, as some kind of trance overtook me and I knew what to do...I love him. There was only one way to tell him...  
_

 _I saw him close his eyes and I closed mine, as we leaned slowly forward to kiss...  
_

* * *

Both Yumi and Ulrich jumped from their trance, blushing like two ripe tomatoes.

"Are you going to put that in your diary?" he murmured, mentally slapping himself, for such a stupid question.

She avoided it, and looked away. "What about you?" she asked, instead.

The two sat, not answering each other's questions. But, as they sat in the icy rain, they both regretted their sudden decision of post-poning their long-awaited kiss for who knows how long.

* * *

Layla's PC buzzed. She opened it and founded a new e-mail. It was from an anonymous user and it said: _"Don't ask me how I got them; here's the proof that your friends are unharmed and ok...maybe more than ok"_ the e-mail also contained some photos.

She wondered who sent them, even though a part of her knew who it was...

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere both far away and not, a shadow smiled and sighed.

* * *

 **Odd: *takes a deep breath to recover from his shock for the unexpected turn of events regarding Yumi and Ulrich* There; happy now?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *typing* yep; though it's a pity…**

 **Aelita: What?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: it's already five o'clock, I still have to revise this and I didn't end it this morning, so…*clutches head with both hands* MEMORY!**

 **Layla: Well, you wrote something related to it, big deal! Plus, what's better way than having them apologize to each other and then k-I mean *grunts*-** _ **nearly**_ **kiss?**

 **Aelita: And that part was also a pr-*Jeremy cups a hand on her mouth***

 **Jeremy: We're not far from there and you're already trying to spoil it!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Anyway, to all readers, I'm sorry if this isn't my best chapter and it's got less action than the others; sorry, I was just in an Episode 22 crisis and I promise that the next episodes will be alright; what's the next?**

 **Odd: *checks script* ok, uh…*pales* uh, SecretCodeLyokan…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yeah?**

 **Odd: *points at a script page* If you said more action, than you should post-pone 'X.A.N.A.'s fever'**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *reads the script* Darn! This was one of my favorites and my first invented episode ever…but you're right, anyway. So, bad news: I might not be updating for a while, due to the post-poning episode, since I can't put it now…but I hope I made a lot of Ulumi fans out there happy.**

 **Layla: Can you do 'sacrifice' next?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Layla, we talked about this: not until late chapters. Anyway, the good news is that I'm missing just ten-nine ideas! Cool, huh?**

 **Aelita: Make five ideas full of Jerlita fluff!**

 **Jeremy: Yeah!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I was thinking about that, but problem is, I need to look it up since I'm not really a Jerlita expert…so, next time, I'll be making a Jerlita marathon *writes 'Jerlita fluff' in a few episodes* ok, that's done. 'Till the next time, everyone!**

 **Odd: Wait! Where are Yumi and Ulrich?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Whatever: we've finally got Jeremy here instead.  
**

 **Layla: William is complaining: he wants to be part of the dialogues.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I will…soon. Bye everyone!**


	10. Ep 9: The Specter Of Thunder

**Layla: Hey everyone, it's me, Layla! SecretCodeLyokan wasn't in the mood today, so now me and the gang are going to do the intro.**

 **Aelita: *clears throat and reads aloud from a note* So, first, SecretCodeLyokan would like to announce that, since her latest episodes have lacked of action, she's going to work hard to make sure there would be plenty in future chapters. Unfortunately, she was feeling a little lazy and lacked of many ideas today, so she apologizes if this episode is terrible.  
**

 **Jeremy: *clears throat* She's proudly announcing that she read a few Jerlita stories and is now inspired to write some fluff. *blushes***

 **Aelita: Yeah, well, about time…*blushes***

 **Jeremy: She apologizes for all Jerlita fans out there, for not putting this sooner. She promises that, until further notice, all following chapters will include mostly Jerlita and LaylaxOdd, whilst she'll let you all hanging about what will happen to Ulumi/Yulrich.**

 **Yumi: She might be a fan, but she sure does respect other people's preferences.**

 **Layla: She does her best to please all of the people who ship her Top 3 favorite couples.**

 **Yumi: You're right. Anyway, *reads from paper* the review answers: for Naruto Sakura Uzumaki, SecretCodeLyokan apologizes for the mistake and promises to do better in the future.**

 **About Aelita, she would like to clarify to everyone that, while Warriors were in a bad mood, Aelita tried to cheer them up, but her plan backfired on Jeremy and Odd, so she gave up, thus making the last three even angrier. She apologizes to all readers for forgetting this detail.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan would also like to thank him for the idea and says she would be using the Volcanoids probably towards the last chapters, like the Kolossus. *passes paper to Ulrich***

 **Ulrich: *reads from it* In response to tomovlada, she thanks him for the suggestion and has already two half-ideas for it.**

 **Odd: *runs in, while fangirls cheer* *pant* Sorry I'm late.**

 **Layla: What took you so long?**

 **Odd: SecretCodeLyokan wanted me to go check Tumblr: they posted some of her Code Lyoko headcanons…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *from speaker* ODD! THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS!**

 **Odd: Sorry, sorry…but look on the bright side: I didn't tell which ones are yours.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yeah, you're right. And for readers who have Tumblr and read 'codelyokoheadcanons', if anything with my name on it comes in,** _ **do not read it**_ **! Spoiler reasons.**

 **Odd: Yeah, 'cause you just** _ **had**_ **to write the whole plot on a headcanon!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *humphs* Whatever. Do your job.**

 **Odd: Yeah yeah…*clears throat* So, this episode is dedicated to Gracekim1, who suggested this idea. Also, SecretCodeLyokan would like to thank all readers, since today's the day she has officially arrived at over 500 VIEWS! *confetti fall in the background, while Odd blows in a blower* Pffff!**

 **Layla: SecretCodeLyokan doesn't own Code Lyoko or its characters. She owns me, the official plot of this Fanfic, Lyoko Reign and yadda yadda. The idea for this episode, as we said before, is inspired by Gracekim1's suggestion.**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 9: The Specter Of Thunder  
**

* * *

"Hurry up, Jeremy, or we're going to miss lunch!"

Odd and the rest of the Warriors were in the lab, where Jeremy and Aelita were working on an update of the translation program.

Jeremy was typing, while Aelita was watching the screen and talking to him using so many computer terms that even Waldo Schaeffer would be scratching his head and asking them to repeat it again.

Odd, meanwhile, was sitting near the tamer and holding his grumbling stomach with one hand, while Layla was reading the folders that contained data about her friends; William was keeping his distance to avoid arguing with the hybrid again, and was talking to Ulrich about random stuff, much to Yumi's amazement and delight.

The ninja in question was sitting cross-legged in a corner, reading a book that had been shelved as one of her favorites, but she was hiding the title from everyone. Aelita suspected it was probably a love story or something and she was slightly embarrassed to read it in front of them.

"Odd, be patient" Layla said.

"But I'm hungry and today's meatballs and gravy day!" the hybrid complained.

The tamer sighed. "I can't give you my last chocolate bar, Odd"

"Why?" Odd groaned.

"Because I know you have a slight hazelnut allergy, that's why" Layla explained, pointing at a document open in front of her: it was Odd's medical file, and 'slight hazelnut allergy' was written in big red letters on it.

Odd groaned again. "I just get a few itches, that's all…"

"A few itches?" Yumi smirked. "Why, when X.A.N.A. attempted yet another food attack and tried to block you with possessed hazelnuts, you were so red from the scratching that someone could've mistaken you for a strawberry with yellow and purple leaves!"

Everyone laughed, even Layla, while Odd frowned.

"There was a whole army of them!" he defended himself, spreading his arms wide.

Layla smirked and opened another folder.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" she scrolled on her track pad. "Looks like _someone_ had a nervous breakdown in sixth grade!"

Everyone stopped laughing. Odd peeked over her shoulder. "Who is it?"

Layla closed the window and looked at the three friends in front of her. "Apparently, one of you got detention in sixth grade for breaking a desk and made such a fuss that he he had to switch schools because his parents felt deadly embarrassed; guess who?"

Yumi and William looked at each other, before turning to the samurai: he was sitting cross-legged on the floor, and was in a state between blushing in shame or killing the orange-haired girl.

"Is there some dirt on Yumi?" Odd asked, a playful smirk on his face.

Layla searched on the folder, avoiding at all costs one which she had renamed 'unknown'.

"Why is that file called 'unknown'?" Odd asked, pointing at it.

Layla blushed slightly. "Uh…no reason".

She quickly clicked on another folder, but-alas!-it was a picture of one of the ninja's diary pages.

"How on Earth did X.A.N.A. got this?" Layla exclaimed.

Odd read a piece of it and smiled. "So, Yumi, you actually _enjoyed_ the Swimming Pool Attack?"

Yumi's face did a really good imitation of a traffic light, while Ulrich started to find the green pavement really interesting. Odd laughed.

Aelita looked at the ninja's face. "You're red…strawberry-red, to be exact…"

"Actually" William retorted. "I think it's sunset-red"

Aelita tapped on Jeremy's shoulder. "Jeremy" she pointed at Yumi's face. "What shade of red do you think her face is?"

Jeremy looked at it and scratched his head, thoughtfully. "Maybe…traffic light-red?" he suggested.

Ulrich raised his head to see if Yumi was really that red, but their eyes had barely locked when he remembered the reason they were tomato imitations in the first place and turned redder.

"What about Ulrich?" Aelita asked, thoughtfully. " Is he traffic light-red?"

Jeremy shook his head. "Now that I think of it, both of them are too dull to be that shade"

"Maybe it's tomato-red" William suggested after a while.

Aelita stared at the ceiling and brought her index finger on the corner of her mouth. "No" she said after a while. "Tomatoes are far too dull in comparison"

"How about heart-red?"

"Hearts are different shades of red, it doesn't make sense"

"Blood-red?"

"Too dark"

"Normal red?"

"Too bright"

"Rainbow-red?"

"Eh…no, too pinkish"

"Pinkish-red?"

"Looks like it, but it doesn't too"

"I'll fetch a wheel color from the Internet"

"Thanks Jeremy"

"Ladybird-red?"

"Uh-uh"

"Ketchup-red?"

"No; but now I'm hungry"

"Raincoat-red?"

"Is that even a color?"

"It is on crayons"

"Anyway, no"

While they were discussing colors, Layla and Odd were rolling on the ground laughing, and Jeremy ran a scan just in case they weren't attacked by N20.

"C-c-c'mon guys" Layla dried her tears. "J'ai faim et nous sommes en retard"

"I'm hungry too!" Odd pointed out. "Plus, she's right: we have less than half an hour left before lunch is over and I don't want to miss the meatballs!"

So Jeremy closed all windows on the Supercomputer, Layla closed her PC, and the seven went inside the elevator, Aelita, Jeremy and William still discussing about the color of Yumi and Ulrich's blush.

* * *

"Dark red?" William showed Aelita a color on the chromatic wheel.

She shook her head.

"Sunburn-red?"

"Uh…I don't think so"

"Light red?"

"Nope"

"Orange-red?"

"No"

"Yellow-red?"

"That's orange!"

"Right, sorry"

Layla was giggling and Odd was laughing so hard it was a miracle he wasn't chocking.

"You guys still on the shade hunt?" the tamer asked.

"What do you mean 'still'?" Aelita turned towards her.

"Moi, je sais le prènom du couleur" Layla answered. "Direz-moi ce vous voulez savoir ça" **(A/N: I know the name of the color; tell me if you want to know it)**

Aelita sighed and nodded at William. He nodded back and looked at Layla.

"So, what is it?"

She smirked and crossed her arms. "It doesn't exist: a new type of red; I called it the (finger quote) 'Copains et plus c'est tout' red"

Odd laughed so hard that you'd think he was eventually going to burst or something, while Layla had dropped her fork and was now beginning to laugh too.

Aelita and William were both gritting their teeth in frustration, and Jeremy tried to cheer the pinkette up by offering her some carrots.

Meanwhile, Ulrich and Yumi were eating quietly, face concentrated on their foods and they were eventually giving the Evil Eye to the laughing tamer, who just laughed even more.

* * *

Silence. In his world, it was just silence during those times. Then he would start the war again.

 _She's growing._ He thought. _Every day. She looks just like…_

He sighed and pushed that thought away.

 _Stop thinking about the past and concentrate on the future!_

He needed to bring her back. He needed to restore her memory. He needed to have her by his side again. She needed to know the truth…

He called out for his army of new monsters. _I must not fulfill the will of our creator._ He thought. _I'll get her back and kill them all. Just like last time…_

He turned towards a screen and pressed a small button. Meanwhile, in the distance, a tower started to glow red.

"If snowstorm nearly killed the Samurai and the Ninja" He mumbled. "What will _this_ do?"

* * *

Aelita and Jeremy were in his room, talking about Lyoko Reign.

"You're saying you're having dreams about you being on Lyoko _before_ the Men In Black?" Jeremy asked her, sitting on his chair.

She sat on the bed and nodded. "They're really faint memories, but it looks like it"

"Well, at least we're collecting more data to find your mum" Jeremy said.

Aelita nodded, but suddenly broke into tears.

"Aelita!" Jeremy went towards her and dried her tears with a handkerchief. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Jeremy, what if this ends like my father?" she sobbed. "What if we save her, but then my mother gets killed by X.A.N.A. too?"

He smiled at her. "Aelita, we'll find your mum, we'll find out about your missing friends, and we'll keep Anthea alive" he hugged her. "I promise"

"You-you-you're serious?" she asks him.

"Never been so serious in my life"

She hugged him back, nearly squeezing the life out of him. "I have faith in you" she murmured. "I know you always keep your promises"

Jeremy didn't say anything. He just shyly hugged her back, blood rising up his cheeks. He wondered if the color was the new type of red Layla had named…what was it again? Ah, yes: 'Copain et plus c' est tout' …

He mentally gasped when he remembered what it meant. No wonder had the two mischievous matchmakers laughed so hard!

* * *

"So, Layla, what do you think of Jeremy and Aelita?" Odd asked the tamer.

"They're really cute together; if we could just encourage them to already start dating, they could be voted Saint Valenine's Cutest Couple in the years to come" Layla answered, putting her bag beside her on the bench.

"Do you think we should set them up?" Odd asked.

Layla thought about it. "These two sort of know what's going on between them; they just need a few swans, a romantic walk on the park, a bunch of roses, a little bit of courage and BAM! We've got the next Mrs. Belpois!"

Odd laughed. "Yeah…" he walked towards the dispenser machine to get a drink. "Do you want something?" he shouted over to her.

Layla smiled. "What you're having!" she shouted back.

Odd nodded and grabbed a few Euros from his pocket; he put them in the slot and pressed the button. Nothing happened. Odd pressed the button again. Nothing. He kicked it, but the machine won't do anything.

"Piece of useless metal!" he cried, punching it.

"Having trouble, Odd?"

A familiar voice walked towards him. Odd greeted the raven-haired girl with a smile.

"Hey, Sissi! How was the Italy trip?"

Sissi shrugged. "Good, but a little boring too; are you having trouble with the dispenser machine?"

The hybrid frowned. "No, I'm just kicking it 'cause I broke up with Heidi" he said, sarcastically.

Layla ran towards them. "Hey, Odd, the machine…" she stopped when she saw a girl she thought gone forever in front of her.

Odd introduced them: "Layla, remember Sissi Delmas, the principal's daughter? Sissi, this is Layla Carthago: she's a recent student and our new friend"

Layla waved. "So, we finally meet face to face" she said. "The others told me about you; they said you left for a student exchange in Italy a few days after the whole Kadic News thing".

Sissi looked at her. "Is that your natural hair color?" she asked.

Layla nodded, pushing back a lock. "Yeah, my mum's genes"

"It's very…unusual" Sissi remarked. "But I like it"

"What about Aelita's hair?"

"Yeah, that's more unusual than yours, but it's…"

A loud rumble interrupted the teen.

"What was that?" she asked, looking upwards.

Layla winced in pain and grabbed her head.

* * *

" _This was really interesting"_

 _Layla saw a girl moving photos and status bars on a screen with curious eyes._

" _The blizzard attack didn't kill anyone, thank goodness, but I discovered more things about the real world and..." She bit her lip, as a photo passed in front of her: two people nearly buried alive in the snow._

 _Layla swore she saw them somewhere, but where?_

 _The girl gathered a bit of photos and pulled them towards a small slot. "He says he might use the attack again…" she murmured. "_ _Mais pourquoi_ _? Why kill people? He killed the Lyoko Warriors already, except Aelita; what does he want with the others?_ _À moins que…"_

 _Layla and the girl both gasped._ Lyoko Warriors? _The tamer asked herself._ Does she mean Erica and the others from my dream?

* * *

"Layla, watch out!"

A lightning bolt nearly hit Layla, but she avoided it just in time.

"Odd, we must get the others! C'est X.A.N.A.!" she yelled over the noise of the wind.

"What's happening?" Sissi was scared out of her mind.

"Sissi, you must get your father and tell him to evacuate the school immediately!" Odd told the scared girl.

Sissi nodded and ran towards the office.

"What are we going to do?" Layla asked. "This isn't an innocent storm for sure!"

Odd walked towards her and noticed that she was shaking a little. He walked over and hugged her.

Layla gasped silently, but sank in his arms and hugged him back.

"Ok, here's what we're going to do!" Odd told her. "You get Ulrich, Yumi and William, which are probably still in the cafeteria; I'll get Aelita and Jeremy and take them to the factory; go, quick!"

Layla parted from him, and they stared in each other's eyes for a few minutes. The wind was flapping her hair on his face, but he didn't mind; actually, he enjoyed feeling her soft locks brushing his face...

"Odd, be careful" Layla told him, breaking the silence between them and placing him back in reality. "Or else, who would play with me on Mario Kart?"

Odd smirked. "Tamer, if no one is careful, than you wouldn't even _live_ to play Mario Kart with someone else"

Layla chuckled and they parted ways.

* * *

She barged in the cafeteria, running towards the table where she knew the teens were.

"X.A.N.A." Layla whispered, pointing at the window.

They nodded and headed for the door, but a violent blast of wind knocked it out of its hinges and hit William.

Layla and Yumi screamed his name, rushing towards him.

"It's not safe here!" a student yelled to the others. "Come on, let's find a teacher!"

Everyone but the three Lyoko Warriors went out, where it was starting to rain.

From the open space left from the door, wind smacked their faces with cold drops of rain, stinging their skin as they moved the door from William's body.

Layla bent down, brushing a lock of her hair, and felt his pulse. "He's fine, but I think he broke something" she said. "You two go to Lyoko, I'm staying here"

"But…"

"Lovebirds, this is an order!" she yelled over the wind.

The two hesitated again, so Layla did something she regretted about five seconds later: she hit them with a small electric beam strong enough to kick them out of the door.

 _Now I have to get out of here._ She thought. Putting her unconscious friend's arm over her neck, she carried him out of the cafeteria and into the storm, as Ulrich and Yumi regained consciousness.

* * *

Odd had searched half of Kadic looking for the two geniuses without luck. He burst into Eistein's room, but still no one.

"Where could they be?" he asked aloud, when he heard his phone ringing.

"Is that you, Einstein?" he asked on the phone. "...Yeah, I'm still at school...Looking for you…SAY WHAT! You made me search half of Kadic and _now_ you tell me you're at the factory!" he hanged up.

"Talk about being a good friend" he mumbled. A lightning bolt came crashing a few inches in front of him and he jumped, scared.

"Lousy aim, X.A.N.A.!" he cried towards the hole in the ceiling.

* * *

"Aelita, are you sure you want to go all alone on Lyoko? What if you get devirtualized?" Jeremy asked the pinkette.

She smiled. "I know you're worried, Jeremy, but we must do something: it's an inferno outside, with wind, rain and lightning trying to strike everything and everyone. If we don't hurry up, Layla and the others will probably get struck before we can do anything!"

Jeremy scratched his head. "Are you sure you'll manage on your own?"

She planted a sweet kiss on his cheek. "Don't worry; don't forget the others will be arriving too"

"Hopefully" he murmured, blushing, while Aelita walked towards the elevator.

* * *

Layla's eyes were half closed because of the rain and she could hardly see where she was going.

"Help!" she screamed over the storm. "Anyone, help! Somebody!" she sank to her knees, and watched as lightning struck everything but her… _Everything but her…_

"That's it!" she exclaimed, and kept William close to her. "Let's hope X.A.N.A. isn't a good sniper…"

She saw a few shadows approaching her. _Finally some help!_ She thought, smiling. But her smile dropped when those figures came closer and she recognized them…

With a scream, Layla ran as fast as the extra weight of William's body and her legs could carry her.

* * *

Yumi and Ulrich were running towards the bridge, when something stopped them: there, right near the entrance of the factory, an army of nine-feet-tall men dressed in black were occupying the whole bridge.

"Specters" Yumi hissed. Ulrich looked at them with a frown. "They're blocking our way; what shall we do?"

One of the men noticed the two Lyoko Warriors and pointed his palm in their direction, electric sparks forming on it.

"Ulrich, look out!" yelled Yumi, pushing him right as Ulrich was pulling her forward to get her out of the way. In the end, the beam didn't hit the two teens, but a slight blush attack did, when they ended up for the millionth timeon the ground, Yumi on top of him.

"How come we always end up like this?" she asked, smiling.

"Maybe…it's fate which is pushing us too much?" Ulrich suggested, standing up and scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Yumi smirked. "That's a bad joke, Ulrich" she said.

Ulrich shrugged. "Odd would've said the same; speaking of Odd, he must be arriving soon"

Yumi grabbed her phone. "I'll call Jeremy: maybe he knows how to get us in"

"And he'd better make it quick!" Ulrich exclaimed, as he dodged another electric beam.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the factory, Aelita was in the Scanner Room, ready for the virtualization. That was when Yumi called.

"Hang on, Aelita, I'm getting a call" Jeremy told the pinkette, as he answered.

"Jeremy, we have another problem!" Yumi said over the noise of the wind.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked.

"Well, to cut a long story short, X.A.N.A. gave you free bodyguards who are currently occupying the whole bridge"

"What!" Jeremy exclaimed.

* * *

"You heard me; we need help, and quick! Ulrich can't hold them much longer…" she said these words as the brunette slashed a specter with a an old piece of metal which the wind must have carried there.

"Try and reach the factory using the river" Jeremy suggested.

Yumi turned towards it, hair flipping over her face and one eye closed because of the rain. The river was a bit higher than usual and the water looked really scary because of all the wind creating waves and small tsunamis.

"Are you crazy or what? We would never make it to the other side, let alone live to tell the tale!"

Ulrich walked towards her. "Yumi, there's no other way"

Yumi covered the phone with her hand. "But what if we don't make it…"

"We will, don't worry" he said, squeezing her hand. That was when Odd arrived.

"Odd, DUCK!" Yumi and Ulrich yelled, as Odd quickly flatted himself on the ground while a giant electric beam hit an abandoned shop not far away.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked, standing up.

Yumi pointed at the river. Then she removed her hand over the phone when Odd nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Jeremy, Odd's with us and we're going to try the river, but I don't know if we can make it" Yumi said to the phone.

"I'm sure you'll make it in time" Jeremy reassured her. "I'm sending Aelita straight away. Good luck" he hanged up.

"Ok, Aelita, Yumi, Ulrich and Odd might be able to reach you, but It's not certain; until then, try and reach the tower"

"I won't let you guys down" Aelita said.

"You never let us down" the genius smiled. Aelita entered the scanner and waited, as the doors closed behind her.

"Transfer Aelita; Scanner Aelita; Virtualization!"

* * *

Aelita landed in the Forest Sector with a light _thump_ on the hard ground and ran towards the newly-virtualized Overwing.

"The tower's 30 degrees north from your position" Jeremy said. "And beware of monsters"

"I will" promised Aelita, as she flew towards the right direction.

* * *

William was still out cold, and even though he woke up, Layla doubted that he'd be able to run.

"Of everything that X.A.N.A. could think of, it had to be Specters" the tamer mumbled, panting as she ran from her enemies.

Layla ran towards the manhole in the forest and climbed down the sewers, after a little bit of difficulties because of the unconscious boy.

After running towards the Hermitage shortcut towards the sewage, she hid in a corner, shivering, William lying on the ground beside her.

She dialed a number on her phone and waited for the caller to pick up.

"Jeremy, Dépêche-vous! I was able to get away from the Specters, but there's no telling when or if they might find me"

"Don't worry, Aelita's getting near the tower; hang in there"

Layla hanged up and curled up in a ball. She silently started to cry, and a phrase she never expected popped out of her mouth:

"Dad, don't do this, I'm scared"

* * *

Yumi, Ulrich and Odd were swimming in the river, their clothes drenched and their hair wet from the rain; but they were alive, even if waves kept trying to drown them and the Specters would fire a beam every once in a while.

"Are we there yet?" Odd asked, swimming close to his friends.

"Nearly…there…" Yumi answered.

Suddenly, a big wave popped out of nowhere, and was about to thrash itself towards the three Lyoko Warriors…

"Odd!" Yumi yelled. "GO! GO!"

Odd immediately quicken up his pace, passed over the wave and managed to arrive to dry land.

The others were soaked once again by a wave. They swam towards him, when Yumi felt herself being pushed away.

"Help!" she yelled, as Ulrich grabbed her hand and Odd grabbed his before they both got carried away. The hybrid looked behind Yumi and gasped.

"There's a vortex behind you!" he yelled, as he pulled Ulrich safely on the island.

Yumi was about to do the same, when a blast of wind pulled her back in the water, Odd and Ulrich clutching both of her arms.

"The wind…the current…" Odd said, as he tried to pull the ninja onto dry land. "Ulrich, we can't…"

"Nonsense; you go to Lyoko if you want, but I'm staying here" Ulrich retorted.

"Don't be an airhead!" Odd shouted at him. "Aelita needs our help!"

"But…"

"Ulrich" Yumi said. "You go with Odd, I'll stay here and try to hold on" she grabbed the edge of the island with one hand.

"But…"

"No buts: the sooner you get Aelita to the tower, the better" Yumi snapped, as Odd wished her luck and ran towards the entrance.

Ulrich won't let go. "Are you sure you'll be ok?" he asked.

Yumi nodded. "Now go!"

He let her hand go and she used it to grab the edge. The brunette walked for at least five steps, before he stopped and turned around.

"Yumi…"

"Yes?" she asked, fighting the current.

"I…" Ulrich paused before he could say anymore. He shook his head, as if to fight the millions of voices in his head scolding him, and smiled sadly.

"Be careful" he said, before following Odd. Yumi watched him disappear, before a wave made her hit the edge of the island sharply. Another wave followed, then another and another.

X.A.N.A. was using brutal force to make her let go.

* * *

Ulrich and Odd managed to reach the elevator and press the button, before the Specters could hit them.

The doors open, and they announced their presence to Jeremy.

"Great, you're here…" Jeremy said, looking from the monitor, but he stopped when he saw only two Warriors out of three. "Where's Yumi?"

"Dancing the samba with some waves and trying to avoid a vortex" Odd said.

"Alright; Layla is hidden, but she's scared stiff, so I doubt that she might be able to survive if someone found her. Get in the scanners ASAP"

Ulrich pressed the elevator button before the genius had even finished.

* * *

"Ok, the tower's in the Forest Sector; I'll virtualize you near Aelita's current position".

The two Warriors entered the scanners and waited for the virtualization process to start.

"Transfer Ulrich; Transfer Odd; Scanner Ulrich; Scanner Odd; Virtualization!"

* * *

They landed on the Forest Sector near their vehicles and Aelita.

"So, had a few problems arriving here?" she asked.

"A few, Princess" Odd answered, pouncing on the Overboard. "So, what's on the menu?"

Aelita shrugged. "Sorry, Odd, you'll have to remain with an empty stomach: there's not even a single monster" she pointed at the tower.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ulrich said.

Aelita sighed. "There is something not right about the tower" she explained. "I've noticed it before on other ones, but I wasn't one hundred percent sure it was true…until now"

"What?"

Aelita took a deep breath before answering:

"The towers; they seem to be calling the missing kids' names"

* * *

Jeremy's eyes were wide as plates. "They're calling their names?"

Aelita nodded. "I've always noticed, but I thought my father just made a mistake or something; now I'm sure it's not a coincidence" she pointed at the tower again. "It's like as if they're calling for help or, maybe, _someone_ is calling for help…"

"Are you saying you think someone is asking them for help?" Jeremy asked, still wide-eyed.

"Maybe Delenda, whatever or whoever that is, needs help"

Odd thought about it. "What if it was a trap instead?"

Aelita shook her head. "No, it isn't, I'm sure; but now we must hurry, before X.A.N.A. kills someone"

Ulrich went silent all of a sudden. He motioned for his friends to do the same.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered.

The angel and the hybrid listened. That's when they heard it: a large and familiar roar.

"Aelita, Odd, get to the tower, fast!" Ulrich yelled, as pulsations of another activated tower rang in Aelita's mind.

* * *

Yumi was bruised all over; still, somehow, she kept her grip.

"X.A.N.A., if you think I give up so quickly, you're wrong" she murmured, as another wave soaked her.

* * *

Odd and Aelita were running towards the tower, when three Krabes approached them.

"Aelita, take cover!" Odd yelled, as he fired a Laser Arrow to one of the monsters. It missed the target and only damaged its life points.

Aelita looked from the tree she was hiding, and saw a Blok creeping behind the unsuspecting hybrid.

"Energy Field" she whispered, firing her weapon and the Blok burst in a thousand of virtual pieces.

"Thanks Aelita!" Odd said, as he avoided another laser. Alita used her star bracelet to fire from above.

* * *

" _One step after another, my dear" a man was saying to a young girl. Coming closer, the tamer saw an orange-haired girl about her age, wearing her same clothes, walking unsteadily on the factory floor._

" _It's so weird" she said. "The ground's not hard, the wind is cool, and breathing is so…unnatural"_

 _The man smiled. "My dear, it's normal for someone like you to feel strange in this world" he explained. "Now, would you like to eat something?"_

 _The girl looked at him with curious and twinkling eyes. "You think I can eat?" she asked._

 _He nodded. "You're in a human form right now, so you need to eat" he gave her a bar of chocolate. "Here, try this"_

 _The girl examined the brown bar, curiously. Then, she slowly brought it to her mouth and bit it._

* * *

Layla woke up from her dream. She looked around and remembered she was in the sewers, waiting for the Return To The Past. She prayed it would come soon.

* * *

The Skorpion roared and shot more lasers. Ulrich avoided them and mounted on his Overbike, starting the engine and driving away, the monster following him.

"How much do I have to hold this thing for?" he asked.

"Until Aelita gets into the activated tower"

"And when is that going to be?" the samurai snapped.

"Soon…I hope"

"Great" he turned towards the Skorpion. "Just wait until I manage to bend your armor, and then you'll know how it feels to have nightmares!"

* * *

Odd, meanwhile, was in a really sticky situation: he was firing Laser Arrows in all possible directions, because of the Krabes surrounding him. But those were smarter and kept avoiding all of his arrows.

Odd groaned. "I really hate you, you orange-colored…" he stopped in mid-sentence: did he just say 'orange'? He looked at the Krabes and they were indeed said color.

He saw them bend their legs…

"AELITA! GET IN THE TOWER NOW!" he screamed, as the Krabes fired an Energy Wave which knocked out all of his life points.

* * *

He came out of the scanner, clutching his stomach. "Ow ow…" he mumbled. "That was worse than the Megatanks…"

* * *

Aelita ran to the tower, before the orange creatures could catch her. She stopped at the center, where she levitated towards the top.

* * *

Ulrich was running around in circles, avoiding the Skorpion's beams.

"I'm sick of this!" he exclaimed, throwing one of his katanas to the monster. It hit him on the leg, and the thing winced in pain.

"Huh?" Ulrich watched the sword still stuck on the leg, before Jeremy materialized him back.

* * *

Aelita reached the second platform.

* * *

Loud footsteps echoed through the sewers. Layla started shaking like a leaf, trying to make her powers work.

* * *

The screen appeared. Aelita put her hand on it.

AELITA

Then, she started to download a few files. "Jeremy, I'm getting a bit of information on the tower" the pinkette explained.

"Ok, but be quick, or Yumi and Layla would be joining your dad!" he said, as Odd and Ulrich entered the Lab.

"Jeremy, there's something weird you should know about the Skorpion…" Ulrich started.

* * *

A few tears dropped from Yumi's cheeks. She couldn't hold any longer, every single part of her body hurt and she was not going to last long.

"Help" she murmured, as a Specter tried to hit her.

 _Great. Now X.A.N.A.'s trying to electrocute me again._

* * *

Aelita was doing her best, but the files were encrypted, and she couldn't tell which was which.

"Jeremy, they're all mixed up! I don't understand the difference between one and another!" she said, worried.

"Then type the code, Aelita, there's not much time!" Jeremy pleaded.

* * *

A few sparks twinkled in her hand, but that was all. Layla came closer to William, to protect him from the Specters.

* * *

Aelita closed the data packs and typed in the code.

CODE

* * *

"Come on, come on!" Ulrich said impatiently, as Odd watched ten Specters coming towards them, fists sparkling with electricity.

* * *

LYOKO

* * *

The waves stopped, the vortex disappeared; Yumi sighed, as the Specters turned into smoke and flew away. She let go of the edges and sank in the water.

* * *

"Quick, Jeremy, the Return To The Past!" Odd exclaimed. Jeremy typed quickly and pressed the last key.

"Return To The Past Now!"

A white bubble engulfed the whole world, and Yumi was relieved to feel it coming towards her and saving her from sudden death.

* * *

"X.A.N.A. is getting more and more powerful, those Krabes you told me about are the proof" Jeremy sighed. "And those voices you hear from the towers…another mystery"

Aelita patted his back. "Well, we saved lives today, so cheer up"

Jeremy smiled. After all, she was right.

* * *

Ulrich, Yumi and William walked out of the cafeteria, and were greeted by Odd.

"Where's Layla?" William asked. He wanted to thank her for protecting him.

Odd pointed at two figures in the distance, one was a black-haired girl with stylish clothes, the other one was the tamer.

"I re-introduced her to our 'friend'" he said. "She's back from Italy"

William raised an eyebrow, Yumi's eyes were wide as plates and Ulrich…Ulrich slapped himself. But when he saw that this girl didn't even bother to look at him, he smiled.

 _Maybe having Sissi back won't be bad after all._

* * *

 **Layla: SecretCodeLyokan included Sissi in this episode because she thought the girl had to have a role in this story; so she put the Italy exchange as an excuse of her absence and the rest you know.**

 **Ulrich: So, she doesn't like me anymore? What a relief!**

 **Yumi: Don't count your chickens before they hatch, Ulrich; suppose now she thinks you have to be her best pal?**

 **Layla: I'm guessing you're going to still be a bit skeptical about her…anyway, readers, this will be probably the last chapter for this week and the week after, since SecretCodeLyokan is going to a school trip soon.**

 **Odd: Guess where? Hint: Jeremy lives in the same nation…**

 **Jeremy: ODD!**

 **Aelita: Let him be; until the next episode, everyone!**

 **Lyoko Warriors: Ciao!**


	11. Ep 10: Back To Lyoko Reign

**Ok; I know I've left you all waiting enough, but I finally decided what to write. (curtesy to fourth season).**

 **So, X.A.N.A. has attacked a bunch of times, we lost and brought back Yumi...and we discovered Lyoko Reign. Now, I thought, why let's not make an exploration chapter? And here it is!**

* * *

 _ **Review Answers:**_

 _ **Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: Glad you liked the last chapter and that you find this story really interesting. I'm having some trouble recently, and I wouldn't mind some help; I'll let you know soon.**_

* * *

 **Layla: So, this is it…**

 **Aelita: Huh?**

 **Layla: Episode 10…**

 **Aelita: We're not even halfway.**

 **Odd: *enters and starts waving a phone* Hey, look at this! This has episode 15's ending!**

 **Jeremy: Really?**

 **Odd: *nods***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *runs in and snatches back the phone from Odd's hand* You little thief!**

 **Odd: Awww…I wanted to know the ending!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: In your dreams! So, readers, I was wondering…*hesitates* do you have…I don't know…any ideas about something** _ **really**_ **embarrassing that could happen to a certain boy in a certain school…**

 **Odd: *wide-eyed* You're asking the readers?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Hey, I didn't say who it was! I don't have any ideas! So *turns back to readers* If you have any ideas about something really embarrassing that could happen to someone at school, tell me.**

 **Aelita: Remember a few things:**

 **1: It has to respect the K+;**

 **2: It has to be something that could happen in public;**

 **3: It has to be realistic.**

 **4: IT HAS TO BE APPROPRIATE TO THE K+! AND DON'T PUT VULGAR THINGS!**

 **Thanks for your time!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Now, places everyone!**

 ***Everyone heads off***

 **Some Random Person: Hey! The claimer and disclaimer!**

 **Some Other Random Person: We know the drift; we don't need the disclaimer _or_ the claimer.**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 10: Back to Lyoko Reign**

* * *

Sick. Really sick.

Maybe Jeremy was right: she could skip the mission just this once…

 _But it's my mother we're talking about!_ She told herself. _The mother I thought lost forever!_

"Jeremy, I _have_ to go!" she begged on her knees, coughing again.

Jeremy smiled. "I know, Aelita, but you're in no condition to go: you have a terrible fever…"

"But Lyoko can cure me!" she cried. "I can get in and I won't feel a thing anymore!"

Jeremy helped her up. "I know Aelita, but I've modified the translation program to go to Switzerland: you're half a specter, so you can feel stuff and sickness..."

Aelita started to cry. Tears slipped down her face. "It's not fair" she wailed. "We might find my mum today, but I can't see her!"

Jeremy hugged her tightly, stroking her cheek while her face rested on his shoulder. It was pretty weird, considering the blonde was a bit smaller than his angel. Then again, both his friends were smaller than their crushes…

"I want to go home" she mumbled in his arms. He cradled her softly, trying to nod her to sleep.

"Aelita, if you want, I can take you to the factory and ask Odd or the others to send a visual for you, so you can see the base..."

Aelita looked at Jeremy with tearful eyes and slowly nodded. She then held both of his hands. "I love you, Jeremy"

He smiled. "I love you too"

She kissed him tenderly, the genius turning slightly pink. _That's five_ he thought. _And I'm not freezing. I guess that's progress…_ he kissed her back. _Double progress: I'm not freezing up now either!_

* * *

Yep. Clap your hands and raise your fists, everyone, because the two lovebirds you see in front of you have been secretly dating for a month! It all started when Jeremy and Aelita were working on a Skidbladnir update...

* * *

" _Ok; the calculations are ready; what about you, Aelita? How's your work?" Jeremy asked his princess._

 _She was sitting on his bed, working on her laptop. "Done; you can start the program" she answered._

 _Jeremy nodded and pressed enter. After a few hesitations, A green_ (+) _beeped on his screen._

" _YES!" he yelled, walking towards Aelita and taking her hand, making them pirouette in the middle of the room. "The program works! We'll be able to recover all the data from the Digital Sea soon!"_

" _That's great!" the pinkette smiled. "We'll be able to collect all the lost data about the Skid and finish it weeks early!"_

 _Jeremy nodded and stopped pirouetting. "We're the best" he said. "I'm barely fourteen and you've turned thirteen recently; still, in these past years, we've managed to recreate a virtual world, materialize you, destroy X.A.N.A., program vehicles, even recover data from the Digital Sea! Franz would be proud of us" he stopped and faced his shoes, embarrassed. "Oh; I'm sorry Aelita…"_

 _She raised his chin up. "Don't worry, Jeremy; talk about my family all you want: it's no use keeping small regrets and painful memories"  
_

 _He slowly nodded._

 _They both stood there in silence, the program still beeping in the background. Then, after what looked like an hour, Jeremy decided to speak up: it was a perfect moment to ask her…_

" _A…Aelita…" he mumbled._

" _Mhmm?"_

" _I…wanted…to…to ask you something" he continued. "Some…something that has been in my mind for…for months"_

 _She nodded for him to continue. He took a deep breath:_

" _Why…why did you kiss me…that day…you know, after the X.A.N.A. attack?"_

 _Aelita sighed: she had expected that question would eventually pop-up one day, and she already had the answer._

" _I just…wanted to check something" she mumbled, surprised it wasn't that straight-forward as she thought it would be._

" _I know, but what?" he insisted._

 _She sighed again. "Well, I wanted to know…" she looked away, blushing. "Your…your reaction if I kissed you; to know what would happen if…" she blushed even redder. "If…if one day I could kiss you every time…without…without anyone being surprised"_

 _Jeremy's mouth flapped open. Did she meant to say that she wanted them to be together? Did she really wanted?  
_

 _He wondered for a few seconds, then stopped and looked at the color of her cheeks to confirm it._

 _Yes. It was the same shade._ _'Copain et plus c'est tout'._

" _Aelita, I…" he took off his glasses and brushed the sweat off his forehead, before continuing. "I…want to be with you, too"_

 _Aelita looked back at him, the blush still evident on her face. "You…you do?"_

 _Jeremy nodded. "I...I really want to be with you; I've always loved you since the day we met, since the day I turned...I turned on the Supercomputer; I knew you...you..you felt the same, but I was waiting for…"_

 _She shushed him with her finger, before kissing him tenderly. Like the last time, he froze, but she slapped him awake, so he could return the kiss._

* * *

After their little moment, Aelita and Jeremy broke their kiss, smiling.

"You're getting better" Aelita remarked, but then started coughing again. Jeremy handed her a handkerchief and called the others.

"William, it's me: head to the factory, it's time"

He then called Odd: "Odd, Ulrich with you? Good: go to the factory"

Aelita called Yumi: "Yumi *cough* Go to *cough cough cough* factory…*cough cough cough cough*"

Jeremy patted her back several times, while Aelita kept coughing, tears sprouting from her eyes.

"I think *cough cough cough* I might burst *cough cough*"

Jeremy smiled. "You wouldn't burst, don't worry; here" he handed her a small sheet of pills. "For your throat"

She took one and popped it in her mouth, sucking it and tasting the sweet honey coming out of it.

* * *

Layla stared at the vehicles in front of her, uneasily. "Guys…"

"Yeah?" Odd asked her.

She pointed at them. "I just realized…I always run to go to the factory"

"So…"

"Why am I as fast as your skateboards and scooters?" she asked.

William picked up his skateboard (red with a black outline) and shrugged. "Maybe you were a strong athlete at your old school"

"Maybe; but running is a bit boring…" she admitted.

"Well, why don't you _create_ your vehicle?" Odd suggested.

"Pardon?"

"Layla, you can throw balls of lightning, you can shoot Laser Arrows at Ulrich, all in real life; if you can do that, I bet you can try and materialize a vehicle or something, since you have a connection with the Supercomputer…"

Layla thought about it; then, she kneel down and closed her eyes. The Tamer quietly sang to herself.

It was a beautiful song, similar to the one Aelita used to evoke her Creativity. While she sang, something started to appear in front of her: it was the Overboard.

Odd's eyes widened. "Woah!" he exclaimed.

Jeremy looked at the purple floating skateboard, worry and suspicion in his eyes. "I don't like this, to be honest" he said. "The quicker we debug your scan results, the less nervous I'll be"

Layla sighed. "I don't have a skateboard, nor money to buy a scooter" she said, hopping on her vehicle. "And I don't want to be the only one to run; 'til then, I'm riding this"

Aelita put a hand on her secret boyfriend's shoulder. "Don't worry Jeremy, we'll find a way to figure everything out" she promised.

With that said, Jeremy hopped on his scooter. Layla laid on her stomach so that she won't bang her head if her vehicle rose a few centimeters higher than normal.

"Go!" she ordered, as the turbo engines started.

* * *

Odd had been able to catch up to her. "Why do you think you can do all these things?" he asked the Tamer.

She shrugged. "I don't know; maybe you're right, maybe it's that connection to the Supercomputer"

Odd nodded, thoughtfully. "Yeah, but why do _you_ have a connection? It's not that we found you there or something; plus, you come from America"

"Yeah, I don't know why…"

Her mind drifted off to X.A.N.A.'s last attack, when she had said the words…

 _Dad, don't do this, I'm scared!_

She remembered that day: her parents were arguing and she was really scared. It went on and on, and eventually, the tamer walked in the kitchen to get something to eat; but a thunderbolt scared her so much, she dropped the plate she was carrying and it smashed into million pieces.

Her father heard her and he yelled at her for about ten minutes, the poor girl whimpering in a corner…

"Layla!"

The tamer shook her head to get back to reality, noticing that they had arrived. She gracefully jumped from her vehicle and joined the others, as they started to climb up the ladder.

* * *

"So, here's what we're going to do today" Jeremy explained, pointing at a piece of paper on the floor, with several drawings and words. "Aelita is in no condition to go to Lyoko, so she'll stay here; Yumi, I'll help you pilot the Skid. Layla, I'll activate a program so that we can see what's going on from your visual; also, you and William will guide the expedition to Switzerland; Odd and Ulrich will go with you, while Yumi will stay behind in case X.A.N.A. decides to attack the Skid" he pointed at a particular drawing. "It's just an exploring mission, so look around the rooms and see if we find anything interesting, but don't try and mess anything up, like buttons or clothes hangers (he said that especially to Odd); afterwards, we're going to Sector 5 to see if I can find out more about Anthea's prison or on how to debug Layla's scan results" he looked at his friends. "All clear?"

They nodded.

"Ok; now, head off to the scanner room and get ready to be virtualized" he told them, as he helped Aelita stand up and walk towards the Holomap, where she sat down.

The others ran inside the elevator, and Layla pressed the button as soon as they all stepped in. The doors slowly closed and the machine brought them to the room a floor downwards.

* * *

The doors opened again and the five Lyoko Warriors rushed towards the scanners. William, Layla and Ulrich arrived first.

"Looks like I finally beat you in a race" Ulrich smirked at Yumi.

She smirked back. "You still have a lot of catching up to do, before we can consider ourselves even"

"So, who's going first?" Jeremy's voice came through the speakers.

"Me, Ulrich and Layla" William answered.

"Ok; get ready" Jeremy typed the right keys and the scanners closed.

"Transfer William; Transfer Layla; Transfer Ulrich"

Layla smiled, as she felt the tickling sensation starting.

"Scanner William; Scanner Layla; Scanner Ulrich"

She looked at the yellow walls one last time, before…

"Virtualization!"

A blinding light forced her eyes closed and a blast of wind blew her hair upwards like Odd's; a few seconds later, she saw herself in Sector 5, Ulrich and William virtualizing near her.

* * *

"Ok; now's your turn"

Odd and Yumi went inside the scanners.

"Transfer Odd; Transfer Yumi"

Odd was used to the virtualization process; he still remembered the first time, when he didn't know what was happening and was scared like a rabbit. He had a theory that his hair stood on end on Lyoko because of the blast of wind that froze them up on his first day; no one believed it, and Layla hadn't heard of it yet…

"Scanner Odd; Scanner Yumi; Virtualization!"

The blast of wind came, and the next thing he knew, he was on Lyoko near Layla.

* * *

"Ok, guys, the door's about to open; you know the drill: go to the elevator, then on the pods and I'll energize you"

"Yeah, we know Einstein" Odd said, as the door opened. They all ran towards the elevator and waited as it took them to the Skid hangar.

"Ok; remember Yumi, you drive today" Layla reminded. The ninja nodded and walked towards the biggest pod.

"Ready everyone?" Jeremy asked. "Energize!"

They all disappeared in five columns of bright white light, and found themselves, seconds later, inside their virtual submarine.

Yumi looked around her. "Aelita sure has a lot of stuff here" the ninja remarked.

"Do you remember my instructions?" Aelita said, typing on the laptop: for the past few days, Jeremy and her had managed to connect the Supercomputer to his PC. They even had a new earpiece for it.

Yumi nodded and looked around. From his Navskid, Odd frowned. "Why are the ladies always driving?" he whined.

"Maybe because we're more responsible than you guys" Layla answered, typing on her keyboard. "The visual code was V1SC001, right Jeremy?"

"Yes; you have a good memory"

"Thanks"

"Ok, everyone" Yumi looked uneasily at the nunchucks she was holding. "Are we ready?"

"Don't worry Yumi, everything's going to be fine"

"William's right; Aelita and Jeremy are there to guide you" Ulrich looked around him. "But why do I have to get in Yumi's Navskid? I have my own"

Jeremy scratched his head, thoughtfully. "I don't know; maybe I pressed the wrong button"

Ulrich shrugged. "Well, better than no Navskid at all"

"And don't worry, Ulrich, I won't ruin your precious Nafskid" William said, sarcastically.

"It's _Navskid_ , William" Odd corrected.

"Am I dreaming or what?" Layla smiled. "Odd that corrects someone's grammar?"

"Well, modestly…"

"Sorry Odd, but I'll have to cut your monologue short" Yumi interrupted, pressing some buttons. "Because now we're going; releasing supports…"

The support lights turned off and Skid was free, a nervous ninja trying hard to keep it in the air.

"Ok, Yumi, listen to me" Aelita said over her earpiece. "Piloting the Skid is easy, you'll see…"

* * *

"See? We're still alive!" Layla reassured the ninja: the had managed to get inside the Digital Sea, but she was still scared stiff.

"Is it because of the nightmare?" Aelita asked.

Yumi looked at the Sea. "Partly" she mumbled.

Odd was about to say something, when the Sea turned red and three Suckers were swimming towards the Skid.

"Ok, guys; I'm going to release you" the ninja said, sliding her fingers on the switches. "L-like this, right?"

As if to answer, Ulrich, Odd, William and Layla drove in front of her, showing off their Navskids.

"Me and Layla will chase away these bad starfish imitations, while you stay here and protect the Skid" William said, as the tamer shot at a Sucker, but missed.

"Allo, les poissons! Vous voulez jouer?" the tamer asked.

Yumi smiled. "They would love to play, Layla"

"Yeah" Ulrich added. "The problem is…(he locked his target)…we don't have much time for games!" he shot a torpedo to a nearby Sucker and two out of five tentacles exploded.

"Guys! Mantas, two o'clock!" Jeremy warned.

"We'll take care of them" Layla reassured, and set off with William. She saw one of the monsters and shot two torpedoes at it. One hit it.

"Hey there!" she said to another one. "Tu veux aller au Paradis?"

The Manta tried to shoot a laser at her, but she dodged it and winked at William, who nodded and crept towards the monster's companion.

Layla locked her target and shot another torpedo. "Désolée, mais tu ne l'emporteras pas au Paradis, ma cher bestiole!" she said, as the Manta exploded. **(A/N : "You want to go to paradise?" "Sorry, but Paradise isn't where you're going, my dear beast". I translated this last line from the comic 'Shaken', where it's pronounced by Yumi, but I added a few tweaks. "Bestiole", I add, does mean "beast" in French, but in the English dub, the rare times it's used, they translated it into "monster"; this detail I noticed in 'New Order', when they were talking about the Tarantula)**

"Good job, Layla!" William said to the tamer, as he too locked the target. "This is for all the times I shot torpedoes to the others!" he said to the Manta, as it exploded.

The Digital Sea turned back into the calm and beautiful blue it always was.

"Good job, everyone! Now, head back to the Skid" Jeremy said.

Yumi looked at the switches. "How did I put them back, Aelita?" she asked.

"Just activate the magnetic sole by pressing the buttons that are in the position of 7543 before sliding the switches"

"Which keyboard?"

"The one on your right"

Yumi looked on her right and saw it: it was a 3x3 square, with nine white and square buttons. She pressed the keys that, if on a phone, would have corresponded to the numbers Aelita told her, and slid the switches. The sole activated and the four Navskids attached themselves to the virtual submarine with no difficulty.

* * *

"X.A.N.A. wasn't really in the mood for a fight today" Odd remarked, as the Skid swam towards their destination.

"Maybe he's planning something big" William shivered a little at the thought.

"Or maybe…" Layla's eyes sparkled. "Maybe it's because of something else"

"Like what?" Jeremy asked.

"When he sent the Marabounta Krabe and Blok, it was because he was having problems creating monsters; what if he was having the same problems now?"

"But…but X.A.N.A. always managed to send us lots of monsters before you came" Ulrich protested. "How come he's running out now?"

Jeremy scratched his head, thoughtfully. "X.A.N.A. suffered a few blows with my multi-agent program; the power source is enough to bring him back, but not to give him much strength"

"Besides" Aelita added. "When he was created, Daddy made him a multi-agent program, but not really that powerful, so he didn't consider adding extra power on the source; he must be using that little power he has to attack us"

"Maybe that's why he's been attacking Lyoko Reign!" Yumi exclaimed. "To get more power!"

Aelita sighed again. "X.A.N.A.'s probably trying to get more power in another way; but where?"

"It's what we're going to find out" Jeremy promised, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Aelita smiled and slowly nodded, giving him a quick peck on the lips, before starting to cough again.

"What about Delenda? What do we know about it?" Ulrich asked.

"We know it's something or someone to do with X.A.N.A.; that's all" Aelita answered. "We also know that there are six kids – five disappeared and one no one knows about – who I don't remember"

"Let's not mention that Layla has a connection with the Supercomputer and we don't know why" William added.

"There are too many questions and no answers" Yumi said. "Luckily, we're now here; Aelita, how did you open the portal to Lyoko Reign?"

"Listen carefully, this is going to be tricky…"

* * *

The four Lyoko Warriors looked at the tunnel in front of them. Inside, you could barely distinguish the FBI base in all the snow.

"We're going in, Jeremy" Layla said, as she stepped in the blue tunnel, followed by William, the Odd, then Ulrich.

In all that blue, the tamer's outfit looked out of place, since she was wearing black and white.

"Ok, guys; I modified the structure of the tunnel, so when you get in, you'll be like when I used to translate you in the Replikas' Supercomputer; you will also feel anything but the temperature, but you can also be seen, so be careful"

"We will, Einstein" Layla assured him, as she took one step in the soft snow.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yumi was near the Skid, looking at a screen which had appeared in front of her: it was data about Lyoko Reign and she was reading it.

 _According to these files_ she said to herself. _Lyoko Reign was created to store X.A.N.A.'s back-up power in case he got too dangerous…and that power is hidden somewhere here; then, Franz created a power source to prevent X.A.N.A. from shutting down for good, but he forgot to tell him where that hidden back-up was…that's why he kept attacking Lyoko Reign!_

* * *

"It's so weird" Odd remarked. "I can't feel the cold, but I can sense the softness of the snow" he picked up a handful and threw it towards Layla, but she dodged just in time, so the snowball hit Ulrich.

"Why you…" the samurai saw red and picked up another handful of snow, throwing it at the laughing hybrid.

William saw what happened and threw a snow ball at the brunette, but he hit Layla instead. The Tamer used her Creativity to materialize a mountain of snowballs on top of the unsuspecting hybrid and warrior, which fell on them immediately, much to their surprise.

"SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Odd yelled from the pile of snow he was covered in, and threw one of his snowballs at the two standing teens, who dodged.

"Ok then; ten minutes of snowball fight, then you head to the base" Jeremy said, as William emerged from the pile of snow, hands full of snowballs.

* * *

Jeremy sighed at the four friends, who were playing happily in the snow. He looked back at Aelita, who was examining some data with Yumi.

"Aelita?" he asked the pinkette. She looked at him and told the ninja to continue alone for a while, before taking off her earpiece.

"Yes, Jeremy?"

"Have you ever played in the snow?"

Aelita sighed, and smiled sadly. "The last time I did, I was three and my mother was kidnapped; it doesn't snow very often in France"

"Yeah, I know"

They stared at each other for e few minutes, not knowing what to say; Aelita was the first to break the silence:

"What about you?"

"What?"

"When was the last time you played in the snow?"

Jeremy smiled, and thought about it for a while. "I think it was when I was seven: my uncle had invited us for a few days and it snowed during that period; we had great fun, me and my cousins" he smiled again at that memory.

Aelita nodded. "I don't remember having cousins" she said. "I don't think I actually have any family apart from my parents"

Jeremy hugged her. "Don't worry, Aelita; we'll get you mum back, I promise" he kissed her sweetly. It was the first time he had kissed her and not the opposite.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the snowball fight had ended and the four Lyoko Wariors were walking towards the entrance.

"Oh no, the guards!" Layla whispered. "We'll never be able to get past them"

Odd smirked. "You sure?" he asked. He pointed one of his claws to a back door not far away. "There's a door there; let's go"

They ran towards the door, taking care not to be seen.

* * *

"So ,where do we search first?" William asked Layla, as soon as they got in.

The tamer counted the doors on the sides of the hallway in front of them: twenty-four. If they could each explore six rooms, maybe they might be able to finish in time.

"We split: each of us search-wait, Jeremy, is there anyone in the rooms?"

The genius looked at the map they had found on Lyoko Reign a few days ago. "Yes, but only in the last two rooms"

"Ok; so that makes twenty-two…change of plans: Odd, Ulrich, you search the ten last rooms; me and William will take a look at the first twelve; that's five for each of you and six for each of us"

And, with that, they all went in their specific direction.

* * *

Yumi was bored.

After sending some data to Aelita, she had stared at the fan in her hand, opening and closing it repeatedly.

 _Jeremy had to reprogram me a new one._ She thought. _Ulrich forgot to give back the one I gave him; I wonder what he did to it…_

She smiled, remembering the day she had given him the fan, that terrible day she had jumped and used her free fan to destroy the bug, seconds before she was devirtualized forever…

 _Rumor is that he never parts from it._ She thought. _I need to ask him if that's true, one day…_

* * *

Layla yawned, as she exit her fourth room. The only things she had found were laboratories and one weaponry room. Nothing special.

* * *

William sighed. _This is really boring._ He thought. _Empty rooms; I've tapped every corner to see if there was a secret switch or something, but no, just nothingness._

* * *

Ulrich and Odd had explored the rooms together (mainly because the brunette was afraid that his best friend might trigger some alarm), but they were all locked but the ninth and the tenth: an office and an archive.

"Ok, Odd, you explore the office and I'll search the archive" the brunette said. "Maybe we'll find something interesting; but, please, don't trigger any alarms!"

"Don't worry captain, I'll be careful" the hybrid promised.

* * *

Layla had entered the fifth room and discovered something really unusual about it: not only did it cut off her connection to Jeremy, but it was also empty...maybe a little _too_ empty: it was a white room, yet the walls and the ceiling weren't there; there was no furniture or decorations, yet it seems like there was something there. How weird…

The tamer walked towards the wall on her right and looked at it, as though it were a window; her eyes widened.

"Anthea? Is that you?"

* * *

The door was locked. Fantastic. _Only the sixth left, I guess._

He entered the sixth room and looked around him: it was a blue room, but what surprised him more was the thing in the middle of it: a pinkish orb, twice as big as his head, trapped in a crystal dome. On its side, there was a big stitch, as if it had been sewed.

He reached out to touch it…

* * *

 _A scream erupted in his head. It was painful, as if someone was dying._

* * *

He retracted his hand with a jolt and stared at the orb again. Something inside him knew he had already seen it before, but where?

* * *

"Anthea?"

To any other person, you couldn't see anything there, let alone a woman with pink hair. But Layla could feel the presence of someone near the wall: it was her, she knew it. So Jeremy was right: Anthea was trapped in some parallel version of the base. The question was, where exactly? And how could they accessed it?

She looked at the wall again, stroking it. She knew Anthea heard her, she could feel it, but the woman couldn't speak to her. _I'll leave her a message._ The girl thought.

"Anthea, your daughter is alive" she said. "Aelita, she's alive and well; Waldo, your husband...I'm really sorry, but...but he's dead" she took a deep breath before continuing: "He tried to save you, to get you back, but X.A.N.A., a multi-agent program, trapped you here; he didn't mean it, X.A.N.A. I mean, he was just blinded by fury; Aelita is currently thirteen years old, since the Supercomputer she was trapped in didn't affect her age, and she lives on Earth with the next bes thing after a family: us, her friends: Jeremy Belpois, Yumi Ishiyama, Ulrich Stern, Odd Della Robbia, William Dunbar and me, Layla Carthago; X.A.N.A.'s weak but still alive and he seems to have taken control of half of the base; I think he's recharging himself here, the millions of things he could do with the labs, and the weapons room…" she stopped again.

"Anthea…" she asked. "Can I tell you a secret? Promise you won't tell anyone?"

Her sixth sense told her that Anthea had agreed. "Well, I don't know if I am who I am" the tamer said. "I mean, I'm Layla Carthago, I was born on the 9th of January 1990, I'm currently fifteen, I'm the daughter of Lauren and Marcus Carthago, my best friends and my crush died in a tragic accident I don't remember much of, but I sometimes fell like, I don't know…as if…there was something else missing" she confessed. "Something really important…"

 _Again, I'm sure I heard this phrase before._ The tamer thought. _But where?_

"Anthea, thanks for listening" she told the woman. "Aelita and Jeremy are doing all they can to free you; she couldn't come, Aelita I mean, because she had a fever"

Anthea, Layla could hear, seemed calmer than before: hearing news about her daughter must've cheered her up a lot.

"I'll tell Jeremy I found you; don't worry, I promise you and my friend will soon be reunited; I have a weird feeling, sometimes, when I see Aelita sad about her father…" she sighed. "It's as if…as if I knew what you feel when you lose a parent; but I think it's a dream" she walked towards the door. "See you soon, Anthea" she said, before closing the door behind her.

* * *

William ran towards her. "Layla, there's something weird in that room" he said, pulling her towards one of the doors: it was open and it showed the pinkish orb he had seen before. "Do you know what it is? I have a feeling I saw it somewhere, but I don't remember…"

"It's…" Layla closed her eyes. "It's a virtual Memory Bubble; you must've seen plenty of those when you were Xanafied, William: they're created by X.A.N.A."

"But why?"

"I don't know William; but, whatever the reason is…" she pointed at the stitch. "X.A.N.A. doesn't want it to open"

* * *

Ulrich and Odd had searched all of the papers they found, and they somehow managed to find easily a lot of important stuff.

"Interesting" Ulrich said, looking at the papers. "There's stuff about Waldo Schaeffer, but it's mostly personal data: they must've been searching for him…"

"And they found him too" Odd finished, pointing at another file. "It says here that Anthea was kept here and interrogated on Waldo's Project Carthage: she was part of it too" he looked at a blueprint. "Here's something about the Project: only the virtual Core was prepared, before Franz escaped"

Ulrich stared at it. "Woah! It's an enormous version of Sector 5!" he exclaimed.

Odd smirked. "Actually, my friend, we already made that mistake once…"

Ulrich didn't understand at first; then, his eyes widened. "Wait; you don't mean…"

"Yep: Lyoko Reign is based on the original Project Carthage; Sector 5 is just a small copy"

They rushed to their friends. "Layla, William! Guess what we found!"

William smirked. "We found something interesting too…"

Jeremy smiled. "That's good news! I decided to bring Aelita to Lyoko, so she can go to Sector 5 while you searched; you can meet her once I got you out of there" and he translated them back to the Skid, where they waited for the pinkette to join them.

* * *

Aelita had been very brave: she had avoided ten Creepers and she was now getting some useful data about the towers.

"Apparently, Jeremy, I was right: Daddy didn't modify the towers" she said. "Here, now you'll see"

She downloaded another couple of data, before she gave the commands back to Jeremy. Then, she used her wings to fly towards a hidden tunnel, where Lyoko Reign was.

* * *

They were all at the factory, and Jeremy had listened to everything they had said.

"So, Mum is ok?" Aelita asked, coughing again.

Layla nodded. "She can't communicate with the outside world, and I couldn't figure out where she was exactly, but I could feel her presence and her emotions: she's ok, and happy to know you're alive and with trustworthy friends"

"This memory bubble William saw is another unanswered question, though" Yumi said.

Jeremy nodded. "Yeah, I know; so, if Anthea knows about Project Carthage, maybe she could help us defeat X.A.N.A. once and for all"

"But Anthea was kidnapped years before X.A.N.A." Ulrich said.

"Wrong, Ulrich" Aelita told him. "True, she was kidnapped years before X.A.N.A. was completed, but she was there when he was nothing but an experimental idea" she smiled. "Mum and Daddy were trying to find a way to protect Project Carthage from the wrong people and came up with the idea for a multi-agent program; I think my parents were planning on building it and then materialize it so it could learn about humans"

"C'est super!" Layla exclaimed, clapping her hands. "If X.A.N.A. had been human, I'm sure you wouldn't be fighting him these days"

"Yes, but Mum got kidnapped before they could even start" Aelita said. "When Daddy moved here, he created X.A.N.A. from what he and Mum thought about; but I don't think he ever came to Earth, or he'd have a human shape when he'd came in our world"

They all nodded in agreement.

"What about the towers?" Odd asked. "Did you find something about them?"

Jeremy nodded, slowly. "These voices Aelita hears are like echoes: it's as if the tower is screaming over and over; only, it's not the tower, it's coming from something further away"

Odd gasped. "And where?"

Jeremy sighed. "I don't know; I just know that it's always a different echo: one time it's screaming for help, another time it screams for a girl named Erica or a boy named Johnny, or in another tower someone's crying; but that's not the point…" he closed his eyes, his expression very serious.

Aelita continued for him. "X.A.N.A. encrypted every single file and we don't know much. He must really be desperate to keep it a secret...then...there's something else" she sadly stroked her right arm. "When…when I passed the tower in…Sector 5…I…I heard someone calling a name…"

She stopped and looked at a person in particular.

"W-W-William" she asked, shakily. "W-w-what was your mother's maiden name again?"

William shrugged. "Doverpoint; why…" his eyes grew wide. "Wait: you're not saying…"

Aelita nodded.

"The tower…it was calling for a Wilfred…a Wilfred Doverpoint…"

Everyone gasped in shock; one of the mysterious kids… _was related to William?_

* * *

 **DUN DUN DUN!**

 **I can't believe it! I came up with the basic plot and the rest just wrote itself! Even when i was super tired!  
**

 **So, more mystery: is William really related to this Wilfred? Can they free Anthea? Will they find out more about X.A.N.A.'s power source or where is his back-up power hidden? Will the others find out about Jeremy and Aelita's little secret? Keep reading to find out!  
**

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: You wanted Jerlita fluff, I managed to write Jerlita fluff.**

 **Aelita/Jeremy: *blush*.**

 **Layla: Finally, too!**

 **Aelita: Yeah; good thinking, the whole secret-relationship thing. I like it *kisses Jeremy's cheek***

 **Jerlita Fans: WEAK!**

 **Jeremy: Ah, you think it's weak? *pulls Aelita in for kiss***

 **Jerlita Fans: *SQUEAL!***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *Claps hands* Hooray! Jeremy kissing Aelita! Ain't that surprising!**

 **Odd: Anyway, back to the story...Think of that, readers! *Claps hands* New mystery! I hope you can keep up with all the suspense until episodes 25-26, SecretCodeLyokan!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I hope so too…**

 **William: *Enters stage, nervously* So, am I allowed to come now?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Hi! Come in, come in! Just, don't get too close to me or to Yumi and Ulrich…**

 **William: Huh?**

 **Layla: Yesterday she had a conversation about non-canon couples with her mum and, well, she'd rather not talk about it.**

 **Odd: That's why I gave her this special medicine! *hands her the medicine***

 **Aelita: What is it?**

 **Odd: *Shows bottle* It's called 'Anti-shock'; it helps you get over shocks: see? This is "Different opinions on couples" shock mixed with "Mental ship-wars" shock.**

 **SecrteCodeLyokan: For the medicine...*snaps fingers***

 ***Kiwi enters the stage***

 **Layla/Odd: KIWI!**

 **Odd: Come here, my little diggity dog!**

 ***Kiwi jumps in his master's arms and the hybrid spins him round and round; when he stops, Layla pets him***

 **Ulrich/Yumi: Odd and Kiwi, sittin' on a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!**

 **Odd: *Looks hurt* You're joking, right? I love Kiwi, but I'd never kiss him! Kiss yourselves!**

 **Ulrich/Yumi: *look at each other, blushing***

 **Layla/Odd: *clapping hands and nodding heads to the rhythm* Ulrich and Yumi, sittin' in the desert, K-I-S-S-S-S-S-S-I-N-G!**

 **Yumi: That doesn't even rhyme!**

 **Ulrich: And that's too many Ss.**

 **Odd: *smirks* It doesn't have to rhyme when it's 99% true** **!**

 **Layla: *pokes Yumi and Ulrich's noses* It's not too many Ss if you're doing it for a** _ **long**_ **time!**

 **Jeremy: Ok, enough!**

 **William: He's right.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Ok, then, 'till the next time! And no, fangirls, you're** _ **not**_ **getting a preview of Episode 15! FORGET IT!**


	12. Ep 11:Bets Aren't Taken For Granted

**Hey everyone! Miss me?**

 **So, this chapter's dedicated to Naruto Sakura Uzumaki's suggestions. Enjoy!**

 **Ps: I made a small change on the plot, as you can see; it's a minor change, though…and I apologize for the mistake of doubling the chapter 7: got slightly confused, but it's all fixed now. Sorry again for all new readers for the mistake; you can go read episode 6 now, if you still haven't read it.**

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Episode 11…So close to halfway…and just seven ideas left…**

 **Odd: You're listening to music?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Thank all these character themes videos I saw…**

 **Layla: Yeah…remember Ulrich's in that one? That was** _ **sooooo**_ **appropriate!**

 **Odd: Yeah…*nudges Ulrich*buddy, you should follow its example.**

 **Ulrich: Shut up.**

 **William: There weren't many of mine.**

 **Layla: Don't worry, think of this chapter…it's mostly you-centered...unless SecretCodeLyokan isn't that good...  
**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: LAYLA! DON'T SPOIL IT!  
**

 **Layla: I didn't!  
**

 **Yumi: She's right…**

 **Jeremy: SECRETCODELYOKAN OWNS LAYLA, THE PLOT BUT SHE DOESN'T OWN CODE LYOKO AND ITS RESPECTIVE CHARACTERS!**

 **Aelita: Huh?**

 **Jeremy: Ok, I said this disclaimer; now, let's go, please?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Fair enough. Let's start this episode everyone!**

 **Odd: And PLEASE stop listening to "Savin' me"!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: But it's FANTASTIC!**

 **Odd: You just say that because…**

 **Aelita:…It's a _great_ song.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Now, go and get ready.**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 11: Bets Aren't Taken For Granted**

* * *

"I'm telling you we're the strongest!" Odd sustained, after whiping his mouth from the tomato sauce.

"And I'm telling you that _we're_ the strongest!" Layla smirked, as she ate another carrot.

"Hey guys!" William arrived at the gang's table, and was greeted warmly by his friends. "So, what's today's discussion?"

"Oh, nothing" Aelita answered. "Layla and Odd are debating on which gender is stronger on Lyoko"

"Personally, I think the girls are stronger: Aelita survived through a whole year and more on Lyoko, alone" Layla added.

"Yeah" Odd said. "But _we_ protected her!"

Yumi sighed. "Ok, you two, that's enough!"

Jeremy nodded. "Both genders are strong on Lyoko…"

"What about Jeremy? He guides us from the Supercomputer" Odd ignored them.

"Yeah, but he's afraid of Kankrelats…" Layla pointed out.

"Ok! Arrête!" Ulrich exclaimed, tired of this discussion. "Why don't you make a bet? On the next Lyoko mission, you keep an eye on the first Lyoko Warrior that gets devirtualized: if it's a guy, Layla wins, if it's a girl, Odd does"

"Great idea!" Yumi said. "And the loser dresses up as the opposite gender for the rest of the day and the one after" she chuckled at the thought of Odd wearing a skirt.

Layla and Odd understood the fact that the two were trying to 'punish' them; so they winked, knowing what to do.

"And since Yumi suggested it, you and Aelita are included in the bet!" Layla announced, proudly.

The ninja and the pinkette stared at her. "You're not serious?"

"Oui, trés serieuse" Layla smirked.

"And Ulrich, since this was _your_ idea, you're included in the bet too!" Odd said, wrapping an arm around his best friend.

"WHAT!"Ulrich exclaimed, surprised. "You can't…"

"I can!" Odd said, smiling his Oddball grin.

"But…but…but we're two against three…" He complained, not knowing what else to say.

Odd's smile widened. "Great idea! The more the merrier! That means that we'll include Jeremy and William too!"

Jeremy and William, which were laughing, heard what he said and gave the brunette an Evil Eye.

"Stern, if I could just get my hands on your throat…" William mumbled through clenched teeth.

Layla and Yumi, who were sitting next to him, held him back.

"Woah! Steady boy!" The tamer exclaimed, as if he was an angry bull.

Yumi tightened his grip on his arm, while telling Odd and Ulrich to flee. The two nodded and walked away.

"So, William…" Jeremy started, as soon as the warrior had calmed down. "You're still having nightmares?"

He nodded. "Yeah, always the same"

"Nightmares?" Yumi asked.

William nodded again. "Ever since I touched that Memory Bubble"

"What are they about?" Aelita inquired.

The boy poked at his lunch, a little sadly. "They're about when I was under X.A.N.A.'s control" he answered. "First, I only see darkness; then, I'm in a blue space, and I can't move…I hear a voice, _his_ voice…and he's telling me that I have to be possessed once again and…" he gritted his teeth as the nightmare images pass in his head again.

"Once again?" the pinkette asked.

Jeremy nodded. "We talked about it; I think someone or something was trying to un-Xanafy him or…or maybe, X.A.N.A. would stop controlling him until decided to activate a tower"

Yumi gasped. "That's terrible!"

William stopped poking at his food. "You can't imagine how much it is, Yumi"

"Anyway, guys, remember the tower from Sector 5?" Jeremy asked the small group.

They nodded.

"Well, I analyzed some data with Aelita and, apparently, we might find something more about it in Lyoko Reign"

"Great!" Layla smiled. "So, who opts out this time?"

"I will!" Yumi offered.

"No, I'll opt out" William said, standing up. "I…I need to be alone right now…" he walked out of the cafeteria without saying another word.

"What's wrong with him?" Aelita asked to the two girls who knew him well.

The ninja answered first: "He must be bothered about something…"

* * *

William walked in the courtyard, and sat on a bench, sulking. He still couldn't believe how everything was crumbling in front of him: _Yumi likes me only as a friend, I have some relative who knew Aelita and went to Lyoko, nightmares about my time in X.A.N.A.'s clutches are haunting me and, worst of all, I don't know what I feel for Layla…_

He sighed and grabbed his head with both hands. _I mean, she's sweet, she's caring, she's pretty, she saved me when I passed out when X.A.N.A. created the storm….but, but she likes Odd…Then again, I tend to fall for those who fall for others._ He smiled slightly at the thought.

 _Odd might kill me if he ever finds out…wait, find out what? I don't like Layla…right?_ He stood up and walked to his room. _Perfect! Fantastic! I'm in love with two girls! And those girls are my friends and my friends' crushes! This isn't really the 'bad boy' attitude I'd like to have, to be honest…_

* * *

"So, everyone ready to Energize?" Jeremy asked his friends in Sector 5.

They all shouted their answer.

"And the bet starts maintenant, Odd!" Layla grinned at the hybrid.

He grinned back. "We'll show you who's boss, right guys?" he nudged Ulrich.

The brunette sighed. "Why didn't I keep my mouth shut?"

"That's the spirit! What about you, Einstein?"

"If you want to know, I'm going to choke the first one of you two who gets devirtualized" Jeremy answered.

"Did you hear him, Layla? Better watch out!"

"I meant you and Ulrich, Odd" Jeremy explained. "There's no way I'm risking public humiliation!"

"Hey! Did you know there are people who actually _fear_ public humiliation?" Odd complained.

"Stop quarreling! Jeremy, we're ready to energize" Aelita interrupted their squabble. She wanted to learn more about the towers and she knew that her two female friends were dying to know more about the connection between Wilfred Doverpoint and William Dunbar.

"Ok, get ready; Energize!"

The five Lyoko Warriors disappeared in columns of bright white light and appeared a few seconds later in the Skid.

"Cockpit to Navskids, do you copy?" Aelita called at her friends.

"Navskid to Cockpit, we copy loud and clear" Yumi answered. "I hope we'll find out more about the tower and William"

"Ohhhh, Ulrich, looks like we might have some rivalry on the corner" Odd said, smiling.

"Odd, do you want a black eye when we return?"

"Uuuuh…no?"

"Then you'd better hold your tongue"

Layla didn't say anything. She thought of William, sadly. _I wonder why he was so upset._ She thought. _Maybe it was because of the dreams…_

* * *

" _Stop it!" a girl screamed. The shadow in front of her was ordering a creature something, and loud winces of pain echoed in Layla's mind._

" _How did you manage to break again?" the shadow murmured to a person in front of him. "Maybe it's the Ninja…"_

 _The person, a boy, was chained to the wall, and was suffering from the creature's lasers fired on him. He tightened his fists when he heard the shadow's last words. "She has a name!"_

" _You know, I've known by experience that names are useless" The shadow told him. "They bring pain to you when they're gone, and most of the times, some people have your same names; for example, it gives you pain when you hear her call_ his _name, even though there's a slight chance there are more people called like_ him _…"_

 _The boy glared at him. "I'm not fighting for you again!" he yelled. "I'm not fighting for an emotion-less shadow!"_

 _The figure laughed. "Oh, you're so wrong; I have emotions you see, I even had a life…" he walked towards the boy. "This was taken from me" he snarled, his eyes turning red. "I'm just returning the favor!" the creature shot again, and the boy remained unconscious._

" _No!" the girl screamed, as she heard as distant roar. "No! Please don't do this! Please!" she laid on the ground, but the tears won't form._

" _Please, don't! Have mercy! Would…" she pointed a hand at the monster near her. "Would_ she _have wanted this?"_

 _The shadow screamed a name, but Layla didn't hear it. "Put your hand down!"_

 _The girl kept it high. "No, please…" she murmured. The creature roared in surprise and fear, as her palm glowed red…_

 _The shadow ran towards her and helped her on her feet. He was actually a mix between a human and a shadow: his skin was grey and his clothes, eyes and hair were black; he bore the marking on his forehead and he seemed unstable, as if he could dissolve into smoke at any second, as if that wasn't really his form._

" _Please don't do it…" the girl begged, hugging the 'shadow'. "You…you did the same to…"_

" _I know, but if I don't, then we'll all die" he murmured, holding her close._

" _I know, but…" the girl protested, sobbing. "Would…would…would Einex want that?"_

* * *

Einex? Who is he? Or she?

"Layla? Allo, ici Lyoko!" Odd called her.

The tamer shook herself from her thoughts and her vision. "Uh…sorry, did you I miss anything?"

"No; Jeremy was about to tell us more about Wilfred" the hybrid answered. "You had another vision?"

"Yes; it was about a girl, a prisoner, a shadow and someone named Einex…"

"Einex?" Jeremy repeated. _It sounds familiar…_

"Yeah; anyway, about Wilfred?"

Jeremy shook his head, and concentrated on his friends again. "Well, I searched the Internet for a bit, and found out that Wilfred Doverpoint used to study at Kadic Academy"

"Really?" asked Ulrich.

"Yeah; he was fifteen, more or less, when he mysteriously disappeared" the genius continued. "His parents were Graham and Lucianne Doverpoint, and he was born in England; moved to France as an exchange student. He got caught a few times while sneaking out of class, and he always hanged out with a group of friends, which are the missing kids and Aelita. That's all I could find"

"I wonder why Daddy would keep this away from me" the pinkette asked aloud. "I mean, the diary's partly deleted and he didn't gave me back all my memory...do you think that maybe some of the parts are fake?"

"All we know" Yumi answered. "Is that your mother was kidnapped when you were nearly four years old, she was working on Project Carthage with your dad, he moved to France a few weeks later, he created Lyoko and X.A.N.A., you must've helped him even though you don't remember it, something bad happened to X.A.N.A. that made him mad with Franz and he rebelled…unfortunately, we don't know anything about Delenda or this Einex person Layla said...if he or she is important, that is"

"This is _so_ confusing!" Layla said. "So many gaps and questions; let's hope we find the data we need"

"Jeremy, did you find out at least if William's really related to this Wilfred?" the brunette asked.

"No: X.A.N.A. messed up everything"

"I wonder why he doesn't want us to know…" Layla murmured.

"Maybe it has something to do with how to destroy him" Aelita suggested, as the Digital Sea which surrounded them turned crimson.

* * *

William tossed a pillow on the other side of the room. Then, he picked up his phone and looked at the message and contacts.

 _Am I really in love with Layla?_ He wondered. _Even if I was, she doesn't love me…or does she?_

He looked at one of the messages from the tamer and remembered something. He stood up from his bed and rummaged through a pile of papers, hoping he…yes, there it was, he hadn't threw it away, thank goodness.

He opened the page he was looking for and read the lines again.

 _He wasn't a bad guy, but the others didn't trust him. Maybe it was because of that time when Einex had tried to trap him, or when he was pestering Hilary and she had missed the phone call which was supposed to warn her about the new attack. Only one of them understood him: Ryn, the second heir of Xendu._

 _She knew that he only wanted them to trust him, to be his friends, but they all feared he might not be able to make it through one mission; though Ryn thought he would be a great warrior…and that he was cute, too._

She actually wrote that. And it was clear as daylight who was 'him' based on…

 _I don't understand. Does she likes me or not?_ He wondered. _I mean, she likes Odd, they always spend time together, but why aren't they dating? Are they waiting until it's all over?_

William sighed and threw another pillow to the opposite wall. _This is so confusing…nad I need answeres regarding that other thing...  
_

He picked up his phone again and searched through the contacts; he found one that he was looking for and tried to press the button and call it…but he stopped, suddenly.

 _Should I really do it?_ He wondered. _Of course I should! I have to know if it's true…it she lied to me…if what it said was right, that I do have…_

He shook his head. No it couldn't be, it was probably a glitch…but, then again, no one would've harmed him if he checked…

He pressed the button and held the phone to his ear, waiting for her to pick up.

 _Where is she…_

"Hello?"

Her familiar voice filled his left ear.

"Hi, mum, how are you?"

"Fine, sweetie; are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine"

"That's good to hear; you wanted to ask me something?"

William sighed. "Well, yeah…"

"Then tell me: is it something to do with that girl…what was her name?"

"You mean Yumi? No, it's not about her…"

"You moved on?"

"No, but…but I think I like another girl too" he explained.

"And she's another one of your friends' girlfriend?"

"Well, yeah, sort of…"

Mrs Dunbar frowned, as she listened to her son hesitating. "I know you want to tell me something else, sweetie; say it, I won't bite, promise"

William knew that his mother would never yell at him, but he was still scared. Still, he took a deep breath and asked the question he was dreading:

"Mum, did you have a cousin or a brother named Wilfred Doverpoint which disappeared on 6th of June in 1994?"

His mother flinched a little, startled by the name that she hadn't heard for nine years.

* * *

"So, here we are, Ladies and Gentleman: Lyoko Reign" Aelita announced, as she rose from the hole she had entered from, which closed behind her.

"Where we'll demonstrate that females are better fighters" Layla added.

Odd smirked. "We'll see, tamer, we'll see"

"Ok, guys, the Shield tower's right in front of you; I'll activate it in a few seconds" Jeremy started typing.

"Here's the plan, everyone" Aelita told the others. "I'll search for the data of the Sector 5 tower; Layla, Odd and Ulrich will search for the power back-up while Yumi will keep watch"

"Got it Princess" Odd said, as Aelita attached herself to the Shield tower and de-energized herself and the others.

* * *

"So, what have you found?" Yumi asked the pinkette.

"Not much: X.A.N.A. is very careful with his files, and he leaves nothing around without a lock or something like that" Aelita answered.

Yumi nodded and opened her fan again. "You know" she said. "I think I heard one of the missing kids' name before"

"Really?"

"Yeah: maybe one of my relatives' name is the same"

"Could be"

Yumi closed her fan and opened it again. "Aelita…"

"Yes?"

"Do you know if Ulrich still has my fan?"

Aelita looked at the ninja, a smile forming on her face.

"He always carries it in his bag" she answered. "Teachers aren't very convinced he should keep it or not, but last time someone took it from him, Nicholas I think it was, he knocked him out with one of his Penchak Silat moves; he nearly hit a teacher when she tried to take it away too"

If avatars could blush, Yumi's cheeks would be roughly Aelita's hair color. "You're just saying that…"

"Non, c'est vrai: I saw the whole scene with my own eyes" she went back to her screen. "He's really attached to that fan: Odd claims he always puts it in a box every night so it doesn't get stolen or it doesn't get dust on it, but I don't know if that's true"

Yumi opened and closed her fan again, wondering if what Aelita had said was really that true.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ulrich, Layla and Odd were searching every corner of Lyoko Reign for the back-up power, but they found nothing yet.

"Well, there _has_ to be some kind of secret passage" the tamer said. "Or else, X.A.N.A. wouldn't be still searching for it"

"I wonder how much power does he have…" Ulrich said, as he exited a tower.

"Enough to activate towers and send a welcome committee strong enough to hold us a bit, that's for sure" Odd answered. "But that's not enough: he needs more power to get more control on Lyoko, or at least get more monsters"

"Have you ever thought" the tamer asked them. "What X.A.N.A. might've been like when he wasn't like…like this?"

Ulrich thought a bit. "Maybe he could've been a great pal"

Odd nodded. "I wonder if he had friends" he said. "Being in this virtual world all alone can be pretty boring"

"Well," Layla shrugged. "There was Franz, maybe even Aelita…"

She heard a roar behind her.

"Uh, guys..." she murmured, looking behind her. "Looks like can start thinking about the bet now"

Three Krabes and a Manta were advancing towards them. Layla hit one of the Krabes with her whip, and it started glowing red.

"Again!" she grumbled at the possessed creature. "Get your pals, c'mon"

It obeyed, but was devirtualized by three Megatanks sent as back-up.

"Uh, Jeremy, a little help?" Odd asked.

"Right; I'll send you the Tarantula and the Megatank" Jeremy answered.

Meanwhile, Layla had sprout her wings and tossed the hitting part of the whip so that the symbol connected to the end part, creating her bow.

 _Three Arrows._ She thought, as they appeared in her hand.

"Surrender!" a voice shouted, suddenly. It shook the towers and Yumi and Aelita nearly got a heart attack.

Odd and the others looked around them to search for the source; they were caught off-guard and a giant force pulled them all together, as a virtual cell made of the same blue material as Lyoko Reign's walls formed around them.

"Hey! We did not surrender!" Ulrich protested, unsheathing his two katanas.

"You'd better!" the voice bellowed again.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Aelita asked, even if she partly knew the answer.

"You know who I am, you stupid kids" the voice laughed and Layla curled up in a ball in fear.

* * *

Jeremy pressed two fingers on his earpiece, as if to hear better. "What do you want, X.A.N.A.?" he asked, coldly.

* * *

X.A.N.A. hesitated for several seconds, while the monsters surrounded his friends. Then, Ulrich and Yumi let out a cry of surprise as their weapons neutralized in their hands and Odd grunted when his Laser Arrows refused to fire; also, every single Energy Field Aelita tried to materialize would just disappear in a burst of pink pixels, and Layla's whip had rolled on itself and stuck like that.

"You big cheater!" Odd cried at the ceiling of their cell. "Just tell us what you want without blocking and destroying our weapons!"

X.A.N.A. laughed. "You think that I trust you?" he asked. "You would never stay put and obey me, so I just temporally deleted your only ticket for escaping; it's a precaution, not cheating"

"You still haven't answer my question, X.A.N.A.!" Jeremy insisted.

X.A.N.A. hesitated a few seconds more, before finally answering:

"I want your new addition: I want Layla Carthago; hand her over without resisting and I'll let you all live"

* * *

"Why are you asking me about Wilfred, my dear?" asked Mrs Dunbar.

William thought about a plausible excuse: he couldn't say that Aelita Hopper, as everyone from ten years ago knew her, was alive and didn't remember a thing about this kid, which she had found about in a tower in a virtual world dominated by an evil AI for which he had to work for a few months once…"Oh, I heard from someone around here that six kids had been reported missing ten years ago and that one of them was named with your maiden name; mum, is he really related to me?"

* * *

She gulped once, before shakily hanging up.

"Sorry William, but you're not supposed to know…" she gritted her teeth in anger: if only _he_ hadn't fallen for that orange-haired girl, _he_ 'd still be here…

* * *

"Hello? Hello?" William looked at the screen and saw that she had hanged up.

"What did I say?" he wondered. "Why did she hang up? I'm getting sick of these mysteries…"

His phone rang again. The caller ID indicated the genius was calling him.

"Hello, Jeremy; how's the mission?" he asked.

"William, come immediately to the factory! The others are in trouble!" Jeremy screamed in his ear.

"Woah! Slow down, Einstein! Tell me, what's happening?"

"Well" the genius explained. "They were searching for the back-up power, when suddenly some monsters popped up, and then X.A.N.A. trapped them all in a virtual cage and…and he wants Layla in exchange for their lives!"

"WHAT!" Now, it was William's turn to scream in his friend's eardrum.

"Hey! Be careful with your voice level!"

"Look who's talking"

"Sorry about that; anyway, you need to come quick, before something bad happens"

"Ok, I'm on my way" William reassured him, as he opened the door.

* * *

William ran through the forest and arrived at the manhole, worry written in his eyes.

 _Why does X.A.N.A. want Layla?_ He asked himself. _Does he want to possess her?_

He flinched as the memories of X.A.N.A. torturing him came into his mind.

 _Layla…she'll rebel, she'll try to break free…he'll kill her, that's for sure…maybe that's what he wants!_

He ran even faster, not bothering to take the skateboard. _Layla, I'm coming for you!_ He thought. _Stay strong!_

* * *

Layla was still curled up in a ball, scared. The others were discussing in a corner about what to do, and Jeremy hadn't said anything.

The Megatank and the Tarantula had been called back and she felt alone; Odd walked towards her.

"Hey" he smiled a little. "You ok?"

Layla shook her head, sadly. "I'm scared; what if you all die?"

Odd grabbed her shoulders and looked at her face. "Don't worry, Layla; I'll promise we'll be all out of here without a scratch; if we don't I'll do all I can to protect you and the others"

"No Odd, don't" she pleaded, hugging him. "Living without you won't be the same! We're either getting out together or going down together"

Odd stroked her cheek. "Hey tamer, don't think like that; think positive"

She nodded, smiling a little. "I wonder what X.A.N.A. wants from me…"

Odd's smile widened. "Who wouldn't want you?" he asked. "You're the prettiest girl in school"

She giggled and broke the hug; they stared at each other, blushing (if they could) a little when they noticed how close they were.

* * *

William entered the elevator and pressed the button to go down. "Hurry up, you piece of worthless metal!" he yelled at the machine.

Finally, it went down and arrived at the lab; Jeremy sighed in relief when he saw the boy there.

"Ok; head to the scanner room and I'll virtualize you in Sector 5; there, you'll access to the secret tunnel and go to Lyoko Reign"

The boy nodded and pressed the right button to go down.

* * *

He entered the scanner and waited patiently for the transfer to start.

"Transfer William; Scanner William; Virtualization!"

* * *

The warrior found himself in Sector 5, just like he expected.

"Now, you'd better watch out for Creepers: I think X.A.N.A. sent a bunch waiting for you"

"And I won't be late for the invitation" he answered, and he supersmocked towards the door.

"Hey, Creepers!" he yelled, as he switched back to human shape and swished an Energy Wave to four of the monsters in front of him. He looked around and saw five left and three right; one of them shoot him at the shoulder, and he grunted in pain, as he remembered his dream.

"Be careful, ok? I f you get devirtualized, we might not be able to free them for a long time"

"I know Jeremy, but it's no picnic here!" the warrior said, tossing another Energy Wave at the five Creepers , but missed two. "Darn!"

He supersmocked towards them and slashed them to pieces. "Jeremy, should I make a run for it?" he asked.

"Probably: you need your life points, you can't lose more" Jeremy answered.

William ran towards the exit, while the genius looked at the screen showing his trapped friends.

 _I wonder…_ he thought. _Maybe I could try and remove X.A.N.A.'s bug on the weapons…_ the genius started typing.

* * *

William was now out of the Arena. "Where's this door?" he asked Jeremy.

He watched as his friend programmed the Overboard. "It's in front of you, near the closed tunnel" the genius answered.

William hopped on the Overboard and wriggled a bit because of his poor balance. "Woah, woah, woah! How does he drive this thing?" he asked, trying to avoid falling.

As soon as he mastered complete control, he dived for the hidden tunnel in front of him; binary codes flew passed him, as he reached Lyoko Reign.

* * *

With a swift of his sword, which he had temporally made disappear before, William created an Energy wave enough powerful to destroy half of the monsters in front of him.

"Have no fear, William is here!" he bowed to his friends as the Overboard touched the ground.

"William!" Layla screamed, delighted. "Boy, are we glad to see you!"

"Hey! That's mine!" Odd protested, pointing at the hovering skateboard under the warrior's feet.

Layla lowered his arm. "Odd, what else could he use? Ulrich would've killed him if he used the Overbike, and the Overwing's not really his style…"

William was about to agree, when two lasers hit him and he was devirtualized.

* * *

He appeared in his scanner, and slammed a fist on its wall in frustration. "I was such an easy prey…"

* * *

"Jeremy, William's been devirtualized! What now?" Aelita exclaimed in panic.

"Don't worry guys, I debugged the weapons program: try and fire an Energy Field, Aelita"

The pinkette pointed her palm to a Megatank nearby. "Energy Field" she whispered and the pink ball of light appeared in her hands!

"Great job, Jeremy!" Aelita smiled at her secret boyfriend, as she fired her weapon on the unsuspecting monster. Needless to say, the thing exploded in a burst of virtual pieces.

"Layla" Jeremy said. "Try and break the cage with your powers"

Layla kneel to the ground, a red halo forming around her. _I can do this…_ she thought.

Suddenly, she felt something pulse inside her. Something deadly, but nice at the same time. She opened her eyes: they were red as blood. She blinked once, and they went back to normal, as the halo surrounding her became redder and redder…

"Take cover!" she screamed to the others, before the power controlled her again and she pointed her open palm at the ceiling…she wanted to destroy it…she _needed_ to destroy it…

A blood-red jet fired from her palm and hit the cage, which turned red and crumbled slowly, nearly hitting the surprised Lyoko Warriors.

Then, the tamer spread her hands on the ground and red energy passed through them, lighting small little red streams on the ground, as if the pavement was filled with cables inside. The beams reached the remaining monsters and wrapped around them, destroying them completely.

As soon as the last monster was defeated, the girl mumbled a sentence. Aelita heard it and gasped.

"What did she say, Aelita?" Odd asked her, as the tamer woke from her trance and was helped on her feet by Yumi and Ulrich.

The pinkette lowered her voice. "Carthage must be destroyed"

Odd smiled. "So? It's partly true…"

I know" she looked at her friend, suspiciously "It's the way she said it…"

"Hey guys" Layla interrupted them. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind going back to Earth, especially since Odd and the others have to change for dinnertime"

Jeremy scratched his head, puzzled. "What do you…oh" he remembered. He looked at William, sitting in a corner, with a really cruel Evil Eye.

It took about five minutes for the others on Lyoko to figure out, by a yell in the background, that Jeremy wouldn't be materializing them any sooner, so they had to do it the manual way, while Layla thanked her lucky stars that she had been training on how to use the Supercomputer controls without draining too many life points.

* * *

"How I destroyed the monsters just like that?" Layla repeated the question she was given. "Well, I felt this weird sensation inside me, as if there was something that was trying to break free, and I let it go"

Aelita nodded. "I hope we'll get your scan results fixed soon: I'm getting a bit worried about you"

Yumi finished chewing her fish. "I was lucky that my parents had to leave for a conference this morning: no way I could think of a good excuse to dine here!"

"Speaking of that, how did you manage with Ulrich?" The tamer asked: the three had agreed that each of them would help one boy, which means their respective crush (or, in Aelita's case, boyfriend); Layla was the exception, as she had to help both Odd and William, her admirers.

The ninja shrugged. "It was hard, since there were hardly any skirts in my wardrobe; but I managed to find one which I hadn't worn for a while, but I had to use ome makeup to make him embarassing"

"If you ask me" Aelita said, pointing her fork at her best friend. "He likes the idea of wearing your clothes!"

Yumi fake-punched her on the shoulder. "Very funny; what about Jeremy?"

Aelita shrugged. "Dead easy: you know how my wardrobe is…"

"Yeah, it's an eight-year-old girl's dream come true" the tamer joked. "Odd and William were dead hard to dress: I searched every single nook and cranny for something very embarrassing, but they were _completely_ against it! If this what's babysitting like, I'd better not do it!"

"Yeah; I could hear them fussing all the way from Jeremy's room" the pinkette confessed.

Yumi looked at the entrance, but they still hadn't arrived.

"Anyway," she changed the subject. "How's Sissi?"

The tamer thought about it. "She's nice, once you get to know her; she arrived a few weeks earlier, when you…you know…died, but we were all too busy to notice, I guess. Unfortunately, she's still on Ulrich's case; less than before, but still in love"

The ninja frowned at this. "Well" she shrugged. "Things might change"

Layla was about to tell her something about that last comment, when Aelita, who was sitting near Yumi and opposite the seat next to Layla, looked in front of her and squealed.

"They're here!"

Layla turned around, while the cafeteria dropped in a deadly silence so deadly, you could've heard a fly breathing.

There, standing in front of the door, where the four Lyoko Warrior males dressed as girls:

Odd had his hair down, which had grown a lot and now arrived five centimeters after his shoulders, and it was slightly curly. He was wearing a purple tank top a bit too large for him (that's why he was wearing a pink bra underneath) with "Cutie" written on it, along with pink leggings and purple ballerinas with a dark purple bow on the end. He was wearing far too much blush and smudged pink eyeshadow, along with badly applied deep red lipstick (he had insisted on putting the makeup himself)

William had put enough blush to make a whole army cough, and his lipstick was terribly smudged all over; he had planned to use some makeup for his eyelashes, but it all ended up in a mess still evident on his and Odd's faces (faint black markings). He was wearing a short yellow skirt with orange tights and a white shirt; he also had blue boots similar to Layla's, nad his jacket was the same color. He looked a bit like a girl from a private school in her uniform, only with brighter colors and smudged makeup.

Jeremy was wearing a frilly pink dress with a unicorn on it and little ice-creams on the edge. He also had an enormous pink bow clip on his hair; his makeup had been done by Aelita, so his pink eyeshadow and lipstick weren't as bad as his older friends. He looked like a six-year-old girl and Layla couldn't help but "Aww" a little.

Yumi didn't have much girly stuff, so Ulrich looked like a tomboy which had been forced to wear something pretty and wasn't that bad. Unsatisfied by this, the ninja had decided to put black makeup on all his face: black blush, black lipstick, black eyeshadow…He wore Yumi's best clothes, which she had worn only once during two years ago's prom, but the skirt was a little loose, so she had to pin it several times.

Everyone stared at them. Then, the laughing started. It was extremely contagious, and so loud that the girls would've bet anything that even Ulrich's parents could hear it.

The 'girls' sat with their friends, who were laughing their heads off, especially Layla.

"I told you you should've let me done your makeup" she managed to say between laughs.

"We can't leave now, right?" Ulrich asked.

"Not until we decide to leave, no"

William, Ulrich and Jeremy looked at everyone, blushing (it was hard to see William's) and then gave their hybrid friend an Evil Eye.

"Just wait until we get out of here…" they warned.

Odd frowned. "Hey! It's not my fault! We would've won if William hadn't gotten devirtualized!"

Now, it was William's turn to be Evil Eye-ed at. And the girls were so relieved they had brought cameras with them, because the next half an hour would've been one of the funniest moments Kadic Academy would've ever assisted, as Layla would've written with her reporters the next day on the Kadic News.

* * *

 **Whew! Finished! I hope you liked it and you had enough info to picture our 'female' friends! XD**

 **Odd: That was** _ **so**_ **embarrassing.**

 **Layla: I told you I should've done your makeup! You two completely messed my whole kit!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Well, remember the title. Anyway, next episode's "X.A.N.A.'s fever", the first one that I ever wrote in my life. Is still have the draft, but it's bad: I was eight when I wrote it…**

 **Aelita: SecretCodeLyokan promises to put some Jerlita fluff in the next episode if she can. Meanwhile, she has to break a bit her promise from Episode 9, since we'll be experiencing also a caring side from one of the main characters you'll never imagine!**

 **Odd: Also, soon we'll be having a very interesting episode. But to see it, SecretCodeLyokan would like you to suggest something really embarrassing that could happen at school; like, dead embarrassing. It has to respect the K+, though.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Hope you liked this chapter! See you in the next, which really doesn't need a little explanation, since the title says it all. 'Till the next time!**


	13. Ep 12: XANA's Fever

**Hey everyone! Back for more adventures!**

 **So, as I said before, this episode is the first invented one I ever thought about…ok, the first one was the original first episode (** _ **many**_ **years ago), but this one was the first I ever wrote…ah, those days…anyways, you're here for the story, right? Ok, so let's start! And thank you all for your 1,000 views! You readers rock!  
**

* * *

 _ **Review Answers:**_

 ** _amizoicite2003: Actually, I discovered it's probably some kind of code people use to write passwords and stuff...anyway, it's simple to translate: some letters are replaced by numbers. Example, E is replaced by 3, O by 0, I by 1 and A by 4. Using this method, translating leet is easy :). Some people also use symbols, but I only use numbers. Hope I helped you._**

 _ **Josh Xana: Yeah, that option is a drag. It's nice to know you found my last episode interesting and funny.**_ **=^_^=**

 _ **Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: I didn't know that my last episode could be so hilarious…I'm glad you liked it. Hopefully, I'll try and make another funny one, even though comedy isn't my thing…**_

* * *

 **Layla: Episode 12…what about 13?  
**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I've thought of something, don't worry…also, Episode 14 will take a while to come…Oh God, we're nearly at Episode 14!**

 **Odd: Can I** _ **please**_ **see the Episode 15 ending?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: No.**

 **Ulrich: So, you're breaking a bit your promise in this chapter?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I didn't swear I wouldn't break it, so it's not that really big of a crime. It's just a small dent; the readers will know when my promise will end.**

 **William: So, am I aloud to be near you?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yep. I've gone over my shock.**

 **William: Nice. But I kinda lost track of all the triangles and pairings…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Well, it's a 5** **th** **Season, so there are the normal canon pairings: Jerlita, Ulumi/Yulrich. You and Ulrich don't have much contrasts now, which is a relief, but there's a LaylaxOddxYou triangle; though, you still like Yumi too** **.**

 **William: Gotcha. Thanks.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: That's what writers are for.**

 **Odd: Really? I thought they were evil people who like to play around with their favorite characters and their OCs.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Whatever; so, Aelita, care to tell us the disclaimer?**

 **Aelita: But we all know it!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Tell us and I'll make sure the next episode will be full of Jerlita.**

 **Aelita: Really?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Promise.  
**

 **Aelita: Ok then: SecretCodeLyokan doesn't own Code Lyoko or its characters and places. She only owns Layla, the plot, the mysteries and their answers. Oh, and she also owns the virus…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: You big spoilsport!**

 **Aelita: I said the disclaimer and claimer, big deal!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Pff! Ok, everyone, to your places!**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 12: X.A.N.A.'s fever**

* * *

He smiled as the tower aura glowed a bright red.

 _The Angel did a very big mistake by going on Lyoko that day._ He thought. _Now, if my calculations and experiments were correct, this is going to be probably the last attack for one of them._

He watched as the black Specter entered the tower. _Soon, she'll be back._

* * *

A lamppost blinked in the dark several times. After thirty seconds or so, the lamp inside burst, sending several glass shards on the road for any car to get a flat tire the next morning; black mist crawled out of the broken thing, silently flying towards a nearby house.

It was three in the morning, no one could hear him, and the Superscan had been silenced for the night and the next day, the day of an important pop quiz.

 _That kid was so dumb to turn the sound off._ The shadow on Lyoko thought. _It buys me enough time to come and go, just like that. And the other tower signal can't be traced in a hurry…_

The Specter stopped in front of the gate, as if to check that everyone was really sleeping. Then, it rose towards the top window. _It's open. This is far too easy._

It entered the room, making the window creak ever so slightly. It hid quickly, when he heard a suspicious sound...But luckily, no one had woken up.

The Specter crept from its hiding place and walked towards the figure: he/she **(A/N: I don't know if you have already guessed who the teen is, but I'm disguising his/her gender for now)** was lying in bed, holding a firm grip on the blanket partly covering him/her; maybe he/she was having a nightmare?

Nether less, the Specter had to continue its duty. It silently crept towards the teen and put its hand on his/her arm.

It was a matter of seconds. Then, it disappeared without a sound through a power plug nearby.

After a few seconds, a faint groan was heard from the bed, and the teen covered him/herself with the blanket.

* * *

"Yumi! Wake up or you'll be late again!"

The ninja didn't move. She didn't even shout a sentence back. Nothing.

"Yumi! Get up!"

Still nothing.

"Hiroki, go and wake up your sister!"

The boy stood up from the kitchen table and walked up the stairs, a bit nervously: he might not really like his sister that much, but he was getting worried; had she been kidnapped? Or was she dead?

 _Hiroki, don't be an idiot!_ He said to himself. _She's fine. Probably lied in bed all night thinking about Ulrich and forgot to go to sleep.  
_

He stood in front of the door and knocked on it, very loudly. "Yumi, will you wake up already!"

No answer.

Hiroki knocked again. "Sis, your boyfriend's here to see you!"

This time, he heard a faint sound coming from inside, as if she had shifted from her current position in bed.

He knocked again. "Are you coming or not!"

He heard another sound. It was as if she had grabbed her pillow and tried to slam it on the door.

Hiroki had had enough. Privacy or not, now he was going to enter Yumi's bedroom and shake her awake, even if it would've took him the whole day. So he opened the door, went inside, ran towards his sister's bed and shook her arm.

"C'mon, sis, wake up"

The ninja turned around with a grunt. "Hiroki, don't shout…"

That made him stop in his tracks. Shout? He didn't shout; or did he? No, he definitely didn't. This wasn't a good sign…

"Yumi, are you ok?" he asked, softly.

She opened her eyes and stood up, but immediately yelled in pain and clutched her temples. "My head…"

Hiroki ran downstairs in the kitchen. "Mum, Yumi doesn't feel very well"

* * *

Layla walked in the courtyard with Aelita, yawning.

"Did you sleep well?" the pinkette asked her.

She shook her head. "The Superscan woke me up at three in the morning, but it didn't signal an activated tower"

"Weird" Aelita commented.

"Yeah; worst part is, I couldn't get back to sleep after that"

They reached the benches near the Administration Building, where their male friends were waiting: William and Odd were talking about the latest news in the skating world, Ulrich was reading a book, probably waiting for Yumi, and Jeremy was working on some data.

"Hey Aelita!" he waved, as soon as his secret girlfriend arrived.

She hugged him happily. "So, what's new?"

"Well, the Superscan rang last night, but there was no tower" he answered. Then, they started talking about some techno-babble regarding the Superscan program, but no one was listening to them, so they decided to talk about their plans for the evening.

"Where's Yumi?" Ulrich suddenly asked, closing the book.

William looked at his watch. "She should be arriving soon: classes are about to start…" He was interrupted by Layla's ringtone.

The tamer fished her phone from her jacket pocket and answered it. "Ouais? C'est tu, Geisha?" **  
**

"Hi, Layla" Yumi croaked, one hand holding her phone, the other one holding her temple. "Yeah, it's me; listen, if anyone's wondering if I got kidnapped by X.A.N.A., I haven't: I'm just as sick as a...um..."

"Dog?"

"No, much worse; as sick as a...as a...as a Creeper"

"I don't think Creepers _can_ get sick, but I get your point; I'll tell the others. Get well soon!" she hanged up.

"Yumi's sick?" asked Odd.

The tamer nodded. "I think it was pretty bad too; probably a whole week in bed, if we're lucky"

Ulrich stood up from the bench. "Well, we'd better get going, classes are about to start"

Sure enough, the bell rang loud and clear, announcing the start of the school day.

As Odd and the other 9th graders walked towards the Science Building, the samurai whispered to Layla, a little worried: "How bad is it?"

The tamer quirked an eyebrow: "You don't believe it's normal sickness?"

He nodded. "Well, I mean, it's spring: usually, the rare times she gets sick, it's in mid-winter"

"Maybe it's an exception" the tamer tried to comfort him. He shrugged and walked away.

* * *

Mrs. Hertz was saying something about genetics and DNA, but Ulrich wasn't listening: he was wondering if Yumi's sickness was really _a_ sickness: as far as he knew, she hadn't done anything that could give her a fever recently…right?

"Hey, Jeremy?" he quietly asked the genius in front of him.

Jeremy didn't answer at first: he was busy whispering and chuckling with his secret girlfriend, as if they were little kids.

"Jeremy?" Ulrich whispered a little louder.

This time, the genius heard him, turned around to face him and asked: "What do you want?"

"I was wondering…is it possible that X.A.N.A. could create viruses?" the brunette asked.

Jeremy thought about it. "Well, he is an AI, and he can create computer..."

"I meant, _other_ type of viruses" Ulrich interrupted.

The genius thought for a few minutes again. "Well, it depends; some of them are harder to make, but others are impossible...you have to be more specific"

The brunette twirled his pen in his hands, uncertain if asking his question. At last, he decided to speak up:

"Well, can he create…uh…sickness ones? As in, germs and flu viruses..."

Jeremy stared at him, wide-eyed: "Ulrich, aren't you getting a bit paranoid? Yumi's just got a fever, not cancer, least of all some kind of newly discovered germ!"

"I know" the samurai answered. "It's just that…It's not really in her genes to get a fever in spring"

"Well, maybe something has changed, have you thought of that?" his friend said. "I think you should cool it off, Ulrich: not everything that seems off is because of X.A.N.A." and with that, Jeremy turned around.

"Can't you at least check that it's really not his doing?" the brunette protested. "Just a small check…"

"Enough with this; you know, _you_ should go and see a doctor" Jeremy snapped.

"Oh, so now I'm the paranoid one?" Ulrich snapped back a little too loud, standing up from his seat…

"Stern" Mrs. Hertz called "If you're feeling in the mood to shout, then you can do it outside!"

Ulrich grunted, when he realized that he had been caught. "Miss, may I go to the infirmary?" He asked: he wanted to be alone right now.

"Yeah, I think he needs it…" Odd murmured from his seat, for he had listened to his little chat with Jeremy.

Ulrich heard him and got mad. He slammed his fist on the hybrid's desk, with such force that it was a miracle he didn't break his knuckles.

"That's it, young man! You're going to the principal's office, no excuses!" the teacher yelled.

Ulrich grunted and left, shaking his hand because of the slight pain from the hit.

* * *

"Your behavior is unacceptable" Mr. Delmas told the samurai. "You yell in class, then you nearly hit one of your friends! If you have a problem, you can tell someone about it"

"I…I…I'm sorry, sir" Ulrich murmured.

"You should be; that's one hour of detention after school for you"

"Right…Can I leave now?"

"You can"

Ulrich opened the door and exited the office.

* * *

He walked in the courtyard, hands in his jacket pockets. He wondered how Yumi was…

He fished for his phone and called her. "Yumi? Are you ok?"

"Hi Ulrich" she croaked, feeling a little happier. "Why are you calling me in the middle of first period?"

He told her what happened. She frowned a little.

"Really, Ulrich, you shouldn't worry that much: it's just a fever…" she grunted in pain.

"Yumi?" the brunette called, a little worried.

"This headache…it always get more painful…" suddenly, she felt something rise up her throat…

"U-u-ulrich…"

"Yes?"

"I think I might be getting a little nauseous…." She excused herself and covered her phone with her hand, before grabbing a basin.

Ulrich's eyes were filled with worry. "Are you ok?"

"Of course not! I just threw up and you're asking me if I'm ok?" she snapped a few seconds later.

He clutched his phone tightly. "Don't worry, I'll call the others…"

"Ulrich, it's just a fever…"

He loosened the grip on the small machine. "Are you sure?"

"It's normal; have you ever gotten one?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Don't worry, it'll be all over in a few days…"

He sighed. "If you say so; I'll call you later"

"I'll be waiting"

He hanged up, still concerned. _I'll bet anything she wasn't feeling nauseous before._ He thought. _I don't care what the heck the others think; I'm not sure this is normal._

He slowly walked towards the Science Building and sat on the staircase, waiting for his class to finish.

 _She sounded pretty bad on the phone. I wonder what her temperature is._ He sighed. _How I wish I could help her; be there with her to keep her company…_

He shook that thought away. She was fine, she didn't need any help. Yumi would probably disagree on having him with her: she hated when she was considered a helpless damsel in distress…

* * *

Yumi was lying in bed, pale as a ghost, with a 38.6°C temperature. _I wish Ulrich was here._ She couldn't help but think. _He seemed really worried on the phone. Maybe Layla is right, maybe he does care for me that much…_

She slowly shook her head, sighing, before coughing. The coughing was the worst part of her fever: it was strong, powerful, and it really scared her.

"Are you ok, dear?" her mother called from the living room.

"Yeah, don't worry" the ninja shouted back. She shivered and wrapped her blanket around herself tightly.

 _I need to dress myself._ She thought. _My clothes are warmer than my pajamas, that's for sure._

So she slowly stood up and walked towards the wardrobe, fishing for her black sweater and black pants. She got dressed and went straight back in bed, still shaking.

 _What's wrong with me?_ She asked herself.

The ninja dialed a number on her phone and waited patiently for the answer. It rang a few times, then the caller picked up.

"Hey"

"Hey"

"How are you feeling?"

"Cold"

"How much?"

She thought about it. "Air-conditioner cold"

"What about the nausea?"

"I'm o…" she paused for a second, as the familiar feeling crept inside her again. "Uh…could you excuse me for a minute?"

Ulrich hanged up to give her some privacy. After a few minutes, the phone rang again.

"You ok?"

"Honestly? Not really"

The brunette stayed silent for a few minutes, wondering if he should ask her; he then decided to take the risk:

"If you want, I could come to your house..." he paused, waiting for the answer he knew would arrive…

"Ulrich that's…that's sweet of you, but have you forgotten it's too early for you to even skip classes?"

 _For you, I'd skip graduation; even my parents' funeral._ "It was just a suggestion; I didn't want you to feel alone…"

"Well, my mum's here, so I wouldn't really consider myself being 'alone'; but yeah, I admit, I wouldn't mind having you here…ehm, I mean…" she blushed when she realized what she just said.

He blushed too, but saved her from further embarrassment: "You meant: you guys, right?"

"Eh…yeah, right" _No; I only want_ you _here._ "So…tu as des nouvelles, as Layla would say?"

"No, nothing new" he answered. "Just the normal boring stuff of every single day"

"Only without X.A.N.A."

"Yeah…and without you…" He blushed bright pink. "Ehm…that is…without you to…ehm…"

"Relax Ulrich, I understand" she reassured him. "I think first period might be ending soon; you need get back in class"

"Yeah, you're right…" he mumbled. "Well, bye Yumi"

"See ya" she hanged up, a little less paler than before.

* * *

"Layla, what did the teacher say again?" William asked the tamer during their Italian class

She sighed. "William, this is the twelth time already; you should study more often"

"This is the last time I ask you, I swear"

Layla sighed again. "She asked someone if they had any questions"

"Oh, ok"

Layla resumed her work: she was studying some notes Jeremy had given her about Lyoko Reign; he said it was best she studied them, since she never really got distracted in class whether she was working or not.

"Avete capito?" the teacher suddenly asked.

William raised his hand as an answer. "Io capire non" he said aloud.

The teacher stared at him: "Well, Mr. Dunbar, playing video-games all night again?"

"Uh, well..." The warriors scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Don't worry: at the rate you're going, I'm positive you could be able to ask someone for their name without errors by the end of the year"

The whole class laughed, including Layla.

"Well, you could've told me I made a mistake" he glared at the tamer.

She snorted. "Tu sei lo stupido che non studia"

"And what does _that_ mean?"

"It means you should give up your daydreams about dating Yumi and concentrate on your studies" Layla snapped, slamming her notes on his side of the desk.

* * *

Yumi finished her homework with a sigh, and put her notes on the floor. She coughed again, holding her head. _It hurts..._

The ninja took out the thermometer from her mouth and examined it. Her eyes widened when she saw what the mercury inside said...

* * *

Ulrich joined his friends as they walked towards the gym. He avoided eye contact with any of them, still mad about what happened before.

"Do you think Ulrich's a little too paranoid, Aelita?" Jeremy asked his secret girlfriend.

She shrugged. "He really cares about her, Jeremy; would _you_ like to see me with a fever?"

"Of course not"

She hugged him. "I know you wouldn't want that; that's why I love you" she whispered.

"I love you too" he smiled, returning the hug. "And I would give anything to see you happy"

She kissed his cheek. "I know, Jeremy, I know"

"Hey you two!" Odd called from the gym door. "You can talk about your emotions later; right now, we have a lesson, did you forget?"

"Do you think we would forget a torture lesson?" Jeremy joked.

Odd rolled his eyes. "Be a man, Belpois, or you'll never have Aelita!"

 _The funny thing is, Odd, he already has me!_ The pinkette in question thought with a smile.

* * *

She stared at the thermometer, wide-eyed. _What's wrong with me? Maybe it's this thing that doesn't work..._

No, it couldn't be the piece of plastic, she was sure of it, this thing was brand new.

"This can't be" she mumbled, holding her pulsing head with her hand. "How can the temperature rise to 38.8°C? I didn't do anything wrong!"

* * *

"Today we're going to have this semester's first javelin lesson" Jim was telling the 9th graders. "You'll probably remember of this sport, as we practice it last year, and I'm reminding you that no, it's not easy to rise a pole in the air and throw it as far as possible; on the contrary, it takes a lot of work and experience to master the javelin you're holding! Now, here's a few reminders" he started to do some poses with a stick.

"Say, Jim, I was wondering for a while: did you use to be an Olympic javelin champion?" Odd asked his teacher.

"Well, I was the coach's assistant and the demonstrator back in the old days...they used to call me the 'Dodger', because I could dodge every single stone in my path, as well as javelins when things got crazy" He smiled at the thought.

"But I'd guess you'd rather not talk about it, huh?"

"Well, um, this story isn't for thirteen-year-olds"

"HEY!" the hybrid complained. "Most of us, including me, are fourteen!" he smiled. "So, we're allowed to listen to the story"

"Well...uh...it's not really the time; now, look at me" he turned his attention to the whole class. "You prepare the javelin like this, and you start to run towards the red line over there, then you arrive at the...ow!"

As he was running, he tripped over a stone and fell flat on his face. Needless to say, the whole class was laughing like crazy.

Jim stood up, frowning, and continued to run towards the red line. He was running for a while, when Nicholas's eyes widened: "Um, Jim..."

"What now, Poliakoff?"

"Well, uh, you...you missed the line" the boy pointed at the red line, which was several feet away from the gym teacher's current position.

The whole class literally burst when they saw Jim's expression.

"Well, Jimbo, you are indeed a 'Dodger'..." Odd said between laughs. "You dodge the right line!"

Everyone laughed even more. Aelita couldn't help but smile when she saw that Ulrich was laughing too. _That ought to distract him from his worries._

* * *

William kept his face hidden behind his textbook; Layla, meanwhile, was working on the notes and translating what they said: " _The towers have also the ability to activate without any warning; to do so, those who possess the Keys Of Lyoko are able to download the program with the Code: Hidden. Said towers are able to control things that don't require electricity..._ "

The tamer paused for a second, and read the last bit again. _Don't require electricity. Ability to activate without a warning._ If that was the case, then Ulrich might be right: maybe X.A.N.A. _was_ responsible for Yumi's sickness. But how did he create a virus?

The answer triggered in her mind five seconds later.

* * *

The bell rang announcing lunchtime and the gang reunited.

Layla had worry in her eyes: they had to go to the factory immediately.

"Why? There are no towers" Jeremy told her, as he ate his lunch.

The tamer took out her PC, opened it and showed them _her_ Superscan: it was beeping like mad. "X.A.N.A. used a hidden signal; these towers can transmit anything that doesn't require technology, though it needs to be accompanied by something or someone to avoid getting lost"

"Why does your Superscan show the tower while mine doesn't?"

The tamer shrugged. "My laptop's connected to Lyoko, remember? Plus, I updated it"

"But what's it controlling?" Odd asked.

Layla finished eating and stood up. "That's what I'm planning to find out; William, think of an excuse for the teachers"

"We'll go with you" Aelita stood up with Jeremy.

The three were about to go when Ulrich's phone started to vibrate. He picked it up. "Yumi? How are you?"

"Ul...*cough cough cough*...rich...*cough cough cough*"

"What's wrong?" William asked him. The brunette shushed him. "Yumi, you shouldn't talk, that's what makes you cough; text me, ok?"

"O...*cough cough cough cough*..."

He hanged up and put the phone in the middle of the table on "texts", waiting for hers to arrive.

After a few minutes, the phone vibrated and a new message arrived: _It's getting worse. I'm feeling weaker. Temperature rose again after five minutes._

Everyone gasped in shock. There was the answer in front of them.

Layla frowned. _If this is really X.A.N.A.'s work, then I'll have to be fast. He'll show no mercy._

"This isn't looking good" William remarked.

"But how?" Jeremy insisted. "How did he create a flu virus?"

Layla didn't say anything: she just looked at one person in particular. They all turned to face her.

Face the Angel.

Face Aelita.

"Aelita was sick a few days ago when she went to Lyoko, remember?" The tamer explained. "X.A.N.A. must've copied her flu or something and he must've modified so it could be deadly"

"Deadly?" Ulrich exclaimed in alarm.

Layla looked at him and then at the ground. Then, she slowly nodded.

"Judging by Yumi's text and her coughs, X.A.N.A.'s virus devours health at a tremendous speed; if we don't hurry up, Yumi might die"

The brunette nearly fell of his chair in shock.

* * *

"What shall we do?"

Jeremy and the others were discussing today's tactic while running towards the manhole.

"First thing's first, we need to calculate how much time Yumi has" Jeremy explained.

Layla counted on her fingers: "The Superscan rang at three a.m., it stopped after two minutes more or less then...what time is it now?"

"12:30" answered William.

"12:30..." Jeremy mumbled. "So, the virus has been active for nine hours and twenty-eight minutes..."

"...Yumi told me this morning while I was walking from Mr. Delmas's office that it had worsened: she was getting nauseous" Ulrich pointed out.

"Do you remember the time?" Aelita asked.

"Somewhere between 8:30, I think"

"Ulrich you have to be certain; was it 8:30 or not?"

The brunette thought again. Then he remembered the time on his phone. "It was...8:33"

Layla summed it up: "Nine hours and twenty-eight seconds, worsened from 8:33...Ulrich, ask Yumi if she can tell us how high her temperature is now, before the change, and when she measured it this morning"

The brunette obeyed. Two minutes later, they had arrived at the manhole, but he suddenly froze.

"Oh no!" he grumbled. "I've got detention..."

"Tell us at least if Yumi has answered" the tamer insisted.

He checked his phone: "38.6, 38.8..." his eyes grew wider. "39.4"

Jeremy, Aelita and Layla discussed for a minute about the calculations and the result that came up terrified them: "34 minutes dropping as we speak"

"34 WHAT!" William exclaimed. "You can't be serious; you must have made a mistake..."

"No, William" Aelita shook her head. "We have less than 34 minutes"

"Then what are we waiting for? Why are we standing here talking? Let's go!"

Six of them climbed down the ladder, but Ulrich hesitated.

"As much as I want to help, I can't skip detention" he said. "Maybe it's better that I go"

"Don't worry Ulrich" Layla reassured him. "We'll deactivate the tower in time"

She then created her Overboard and joined the others as they went to the factory on their respective vehicles.

* * *

"We made it pretty fast, but we've got less than 28 minutes" Jeremy said. "Aelita will go first; William and Odd will join her"

The dark-haired boy had already entered the scanner. "So, what are we waiting for, the roof to fall in? Let's go!"

"Ok, ok, calm down William" Jeremy said, as he typed the keys. "I'll do this as fast as I can"

The scanners closed.

"Transfer Willliam; Transfer Aelita; Transfer Odd; Scanner William; Scanner Aelita; Scanner Odd; Virtualization!"

The three virtualized in the Ice Sector. William was the first to stand up and materialized his sword just as a Megatank approached.

"Odd, get Aelita to the tower, I'll do with this over-grown bowling ball" he said.

Just then, Layla materialized and immediately took her whip, slashing it once on the ground.

"No, you'll go with the others, William; I'll deal with the bowling ball"

"You're crazy! Two shots from him and you're as good as dead!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Materialize me the monsters and then you'll see what I can do" she huffed. Then the tamer looked at the three warriors.

"Qu'est-ce que vous faites encore ça? Aller à la tour!" **(A/N: literally: "What are doing still here? Go to the tower!" What it really means: "Why are you still here? Head for the tower!" Gotcha?)**

The three Lyoko Warriors knew that, when Layla made a decision, it was really hard to change her mind, so they left without another hesitation on the vehicles Jeremy had materialized, Odd turning one last time to bid good luck to the tamer.

As soon as they left, the Megatank, the Tarantula, the Blok and the Kankrelat appeared, all of them blue like her Krabe.

Layla smiled and slashed her whip again. "Ok guys, top priority: protect me; as soon as I get hit once, you need to bring me to safety, vous avez comprendu?"

The Knakrelat came crawling towards her and did something very weird: it let out a sound, which looked like a...purr?

Layla nodded and turned her whip into a bow, then she concentrated and her wings appeared.

"Fire!" She ordered, as she shot an arrow to the charging Megatank.

* * *

"Do...do you think it was a smart idea to leave Layla alone?" Odd asked William.

The warrior shrugged. "She's got back-up with her; but I guess it was not really what you call a 'good idea' to leave her alone; I mean, she can take care of herself, but..."

"I get the drift William" the hybrid interrupted, looking a little sad.

"You know what I think?" Aelita flew towards them. "I think that leaving Yumi alone was a bad idea"

"Why?" William asked, eyes filled with worry.

She sighed. "Today her mum had to leave after lunch for an important job; who will take care of her?"

"But you said we need to deactivate the tower to stop the virus from spreading; plus, Yumi isn't the damsel-in-distress kind of girl"

Aelita smiled. "I know; but if there's something my dad has always told me, is that caring for someone can do miracles..."

"I'll go!"

"Don't be daft, William" Jeremy said. "We need you on Lyoko to protect Aelita; if she's devirtualized, then Yumi's done for"

The warrior sadly knew that Jeremy was right: deactivating the tower was top priority and also the ninja's only ticket to safety.

* * *

Jeremy was updating the Superscan so that he could also get informed by the Hidden towers, when the Supercomputer started to beep.

"What's this?" he asked aloud. "Oh, it's the program I launched to learn more about this virus..." he read what it said and his eyes got wide. "No way!"

* * *

Ulrich sighed as he nervously tapped his fingers on the desk, waiting for the Return To The Past that Jeremy was going to launch to save Yumi: deactivating the virus wasn't enough to cure her.

His phone vibrated in his hand. Taking care not to be seen, he pretended to pick something from the ground and answered: "Jeremy?"

"Ulrich, we've got a huge problem..."

"Regarding Yumi?"

"Yes and no: you see, I launched a program to learn more about her virus and...to cut a long story short... it's extremely contagious"

The brunette's eyes widened. "Does that mean that her family has been infected?"

"Probably; and considering that Hiroki is at school and her mother is at work...the whole city will be in the virus's hands in a matter of minutes!"

"And...and then they'll all..."

* * *

Jeremy scratched his chin thoughtfully as he examined the file: "No, Yumi's the only one in danger for now"

"You mean he's using her as some sort of guinea pig?"

" _Human_ guinea pig; all the other creatures X.A.N.A. tested the virus on were small animals, mostly..."

"You...you think that..."

The genius took off his glasses and wiped them nervously with a handkerchief.

"Yes, Ulrich: if the test passes, then X.A.N.A. could just give the signal and all infected people will die, us probably included"

* * *

"A fever created by X.A.N.A..." Ulrich murmured. _I have to save her._

"Jeremy, is it certain that you'll launch a Return To The Past?"

"Yes, why?"

The brunette stood up and looked at Jim, who had fallen asleep.

"Great, because I don't want to skip detention and go out of the school grounds without permission!" he answered.

Jeremy suddenly understood what his friend was planning. _What's wrong with him? Oh, right, this is Yumi we're talking about_ _._ "Ulrich, this is not the time to play hero! You have to-"

The brunette hanged up and quietly exited the library.

* * *

"Ulrich, do you hear me? Ulrich!" the genius then realized he had hanged up. "What a mule! Guys you have to hurry! When X.A.N.A.'s done with Yumi, he'll aim at the whole city"

"Did you see how many monsters we've got?" William complained. "Thirty Kamikaze, five Hornets and two Tarantulas..." he jumped on top of one and slashed it with his sword. "Correction; one Tarantula..."

"I can't reach the tower with all these exploding Kankrelats, Jeremy" Aelita added, swiping her hand over her bracelet to make her wings appear. "They'll all blow up and send me back in the scanner!"

"Ok, I got it; I'll try and find a safe way to the tower..." her secret boyfriend reassured. He watched the screen and started doing some calculations with his notebook and a pen: "Ok, Kamikaze are positioned here, Tarantula's here, Hornets are here; if I add the square time..."

"Jeremy, hurry up please!" Odd yelled, as he got repeatedly shot by the Tarantula and devirtualized.

"Pick someone your own size!" William said to the creature, as he Supersomoked towards it and cut it in two.

* * *

Ulrich ran as fast as he could towards the ninja's house, avoiding everyone around him. He arrived at the window and climbed up; when he was in front of the window, he saw Yumi lying in bed, facing the door. He tapped lightly on the glass. _tap tap tap._

Yumi heard him and turned around. She smiled feebly and mouthed: _It's open._ The brunette proceeded in opening the window and entered the bedroom, rushing towards her side.

"Hey!"

"Hey..." she answered. "The coughing has stopped...but I'm feeling weaker..."

He looked at her alarm clock: 15 minutes left...

"Stay here" he said (which was ironic, since she was too weak to move!) and exited the room, returning three minutes later with a glass of water and a wet towel.

"Drink" he said, giving her the glass. Yumi obeyed, and stood up for a few seconds in order to swallow the water. When she finished, she laid down and Ulrich put the wet towel on her forehead. **  
**

"So, where are the others?" she asked.

"On Lyoko, deactivating the tower; did Jeremy tell you that your fever is...contagious?"

"I'm contagious!" she exclaimed, sitting up, then clutched her head in pain.

"Yumi, lie down, I'll explain" he reassured her, as he gently laid her down and told her everything.

* * *

Aelita avoided another laser and shot an Energy Field at the last Hornet. "Jeremy, these calculations?" she asked.

"Nearly there"

"Where's Layla?" William asked, realizing he hadn't heard from the tamer since she was fighting the Megatank.

"In a cave: she was hit by her fifth Megatank"

The warrior slashed his sword at a Kankrelat nearby, but it was Kamikaze and, before he had time to think, he found himself in the Scanner Room, holding his head.

"How many minutes?" he asked.

"Nine" Jeremy answered, then he snapped his fingers. "Aelita, I got it! I know how to enter the tower!"

* * *

"So, let me get this straight" Yumi mumbled. "X.A.N.A.'s using me as a human lab rat to test if this virus can kill humans, but it also spread like wildfire all over town; then, when I die, he'll just trigger something and all of the other people will join me?"

"You earned an A+" he said, smiling. "How are you feeling?"

She smiled. "Could be worse..." she admitted. "But...but I'm feeling a little better now that you're with me"

Blood rose in the brunette's cheeks, as he nervously scratched his head. _Probably a fever side effect..._ he thought.

"Well, um, thanks..." he looked at the clock: eight-to-seven minutes?

 _What are they doing?_

"Would...would you please tell me a story?" she asked, shyly.

"What?"

"A...a story" she repeated.

Again, Ulrich scratched his head.

"Well, I'll try..." and he started telling her the Story Of Lyoko.

* * *

"Aelita, the Kamikaze re-materialize every five seconds; if you can hit them all with a gigantic Energy Field and run a bit, you could make it"

"Gotcha" the pinkette answered and flew over the exploding creatures.

"Hey! Up here!" she called. When they both looked as if they were staring at her, she fired an enormous Energy Field at them and they all burst simultaneously at contact.

"Good job! Now beat it before it's too late!"

Aelita nodded and sprinted towards the tower.

"Six minutes" she said. "X.A.N.A. wouldn't be very happy..."

When she walked towards the middle, she tried to levitate, but failed miserably.

"What's wrong with this thing?" she asked aloud. That's when she saw it. On the ground. A purple square.

She knelt down to look at it closer. "Jeremy, I think we have a small problem; there's a glitch in the tower, I can't get up"

"What?" Jeremy was astonished. "Why?"

"Guess X.A.N.A. wants to see the fruits of his labor" she made her wings appear. "How many minutes?"

"Five"

"I'll use the shortcut then" and the pinkette flew.

When she got to the upper platform, though, she noticed that the screen won't appear. "Why isn't working? Jeremy, the screen isn't here!"

* * *

Jeremy stared at the monitor in front of him. "The tower's completely glitched! I need to fix it!"

"How much will it take?" asked William.

The genius looked at his watch and frowned.

"Aelita" he said as he typed. "As soon as I say: 'Go!', you must type the code while I'll launch a Return To The Past"

"Why? How much time will all your work leave, Jeremy?" the warrior insisted.

His friend didn't stop typing, but gave him the answer:

"If I work fast...Yumi will have ten seconds left"

* * *

Ulrich had finished his story. It was a lot different than the 'original', but he liked it.

"It was a nice story..." she murmured.

He stroked her cheek. "I'm sure Aelita is right inside the tower now"

"She is sure taking her time...Ah!" Yumi clutched her head in pain.

"Yumi?"

The ninja stared at him, her pupils getting redder and redder. "Ulrich...I think...I think X.A.N.A. sped up the virus!"

The brunette stared, unable to speak or move.

* * *

"Ulrich, calm down..."

"How can I calm down! She's going to die in less than a minute!"

"I've launched the program, it's nearly done" Jeremy reassured him, and he hanged up.

"Aelita, get ready to type the code as I soon as I tell you: X.A.N.A. has modified the virus and it's already ten seconds ahead of us!"

The pinkette nodded, her hand in position.

* * *

"Don't worry" he said. "They're going to save you"

"I don't want to die now!" she cried. "Not by X.A.N.A.'s hands anyway!"

"Shh, it's all going to be alright" he stroked her cheek.

The ninja heard two wet drops on her cheeks and stared at the brunette's face.

"Ulrich...?" she asked, a little surprised. _Is he crying...for me?_

"You're not going to die, ok? You're not going to slip away that easily" he smirked.

She weakly nodded, then grunted in pain again.

Ulrich squeezed her hand in worry, as she closed her eyes. "Yumi? Yumi, wake up!"

* * *

"Now!"

Aelita immediately pressed her hand on the appearing screen and waited impatiently as it wrote her name:

AELITA

* * *

"Yumi, please don't!" Ulrich buried his face on her bed, wetting it with his tears.

* * *

In her cave, Layla was holding her ears, because of the ringing of Yumi's health bar status in her mind.

HEALTH

4%...3.9%...3.8%...

* * *

"Come on!" Aelita exclaimed, as the word CODE appeared. "Finally!"

* * *

The lab was full of tension, as the watched Jeremy typing nervously...

* * *

Yumi still didn't wake up, but her pulse keep feeling weaker and weaker...

* * *

LYOKO

"Jeremy, launch the Return To The Past!" she squealed in worry for her best friend.

* * *

Curled up in a ball, her wings wrapped around her, the tamer buried her face in her knees

 _Yumi? Please don't die..._

HEALTH STATUS

2%...1.9%...1.8%...

* * *

Ulrich looked up from the bed with teary eyes and saw a green mist filling the air; it swirled around for a bit until it fused into a ball and burst.

 _They did it._

"Yumi? Are you ok?" he asked, shaking her gently.

She opened her eyes slightly. "U-ulrich..." she whispered, as pale as a ghost. "Ulrich, there's something..." and she closed her eyes again.

He felt himself filling with panic when she didn't reopened them. "No! Yumi, don't die! Stay strong!"

* * *

"Quick Jeremy!" yelled Layla from her cave. "Yumi's at 0.3% of her health!"

Jeremy pressed enter. "Return To The Past Now!"

A white bubble engulfed the factory, then Kadic, then Yumi's house...then the rest of the world.

* * *

"Whew! X.A.N.A. nearly made it today" Layla commented, as she drank all of her hot chocolate and threw the empty cup in the bin.

"Yeah, it was really scary..." Ulrich admitted.

They waited for Yumi to arrive, hoping the Return To The Past had been launched in time...

"Hey guys!" a familiar voice called them from in front of them. Ulrich literally jumped on that person when he recognized her.

"Yumi, you're ok!" he exclaimed in pure delight.

"Of course I'm ok" she said, smiling. "Do you think I'd let you all down?"

"Hey, by the way..." he scratched his head, nervously. "Uhm...what...what did you wanted to tell me? You know, before you..."

Yumi blushed at the thought. "Oh, that, uhm..." The ninja pondered hard on what she could say. "Well...I...I..." She pointed one of her thumbs behind her. "I think I forgot something in the library yesterday; I'll go check, bye!" and she ran towards the right direction, leaving a surprised Ulrich and a suspicious group of friends.

"Well" Odd commented, as he watched Ulrich shift his hands in his jacket pocket, looking pretty down. "X.A.N.A. might've not killed off the city population, but he certainly killed off a love confession"

"Yeah" Layla agreed, crossing her arms. "But there's something which bothers me"

"What?"

"Well, there was a brief moment in which Yumi's decreasing health started to slow down...as if something was preventing the virus from working..."

"When was that?" Jeremy asked.

She thought about it. "I think...it was more or less a few minutes after you hanged up with Ulrich..."

Everyone stared at the brunette, then at Layla, then back at the samurai, then back at her.

She quirked an eyebrow, puzzled. "What?" then illumination hit her like a laser. "No way!"

"Oh yes" Aelita said.

"Well, at least we've got proof that this 'just friends' thing _is_ a bunch of baloney" Odd pointed out.

"Yeah" The tamer agreed "But if we told them, they'll probably keep saying the name of the Egyptian river"

Everyone laughed, while the bell rang.

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: After two weeks of work and one of holiday, I finally did it! "X.A.N.A.'s fever"'s done!  
**

 **Odd: I can't believe they have "Code Lyoko: Evolution" now in Italy! And I sound like an eighteen-year-old!**

 **SecretcodeLyokan: Yeah, I admit, I like your original voice better...not the one from the animated series, though...**

 **Aelita: So, basically, what's the next episode about?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: "+70"? Oh, it's an interesting story: the Lyoko Warriors find something really important, but with tests coming up, it's hard to defend it from X.A.N.A.'s clutches...not counting that he did a little something to one of you to make it even more complicated...**

 **Aelita: *shudder***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Wow, I can't beleive we're nearly at Episode 14 and 15! I'm looking forward to those so much!**

 **Ulrich: But there's nothing on episodes 16, 17 and 18.**

 **SecretcodeLyokan: Ulrich, first I think about Episode 13's structure, then we'll talk about it...oh, and by the way, you know that you...**

 **Ulrich: Yeah, yeah, I know, I know what I have to do and be.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Ok then. 'Till the next episode, everyone! "+70" will be coming in a while. Oh, and you were very sweet in this episode, you know...**

 **Ulrich: *blush* Shut up...**


	14. Ep 13: Plus 70

**Kankrelats, I didn't realize how long it has been! So sorry everyone, but school happened and updates will probably be due during the weekends, if I'm lucky…anyway, enough of me blabbering. This is a new chapter and I hope you'll enjoy it!**

* * *

 _ **Review Answers:**_

 _ **Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: Yep. Evolution has been dubbed and I honestly don't know if it's a good dub or the original voices are better. (but now they've took Code Lyoko off air…again. Grrr!)**_

 _ **Josh Xana: Well, didn't know it could be that suspens-y :-o**_

* * *

 **Layla:…Episode 13…**

 **Aelita:…Then 14…**

 **Yumi:…Then…15…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Woah! We're nearly halfway from the ending! I can't believe it! I'm so proud of my story.**

 **Layla: Yeah; who knew you would eventually write it?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Do you think I should slightly change the genre? I think I must've forgot to include something.**

 **Layla: The genre's fine…well, almost. Concentrate on the story.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yeah, I should: secret Jerlita is as hard as heck.**

 **Aelita: You promised!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I certainly did. So, this episode might be a mile and a half long…and since I promised to satisfy these Jerlita lovers out there, it could be fluffy…**

 **Odd: You should read more adventure stories, you know.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Just smile and say the disclaimer.**

 **Odd: Fine *smiles forcibly*: SecretCodeLyokan doesn't own Code Lyoko or its respective characters.**

 **Layla: She owns me and everything that doesn't belong to the series.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: And now…behold our new episode!**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 13: +70**

* * *

"So, the Pythagorean theorem states that…"

"The square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides"

"So, if I have a rhombus with the diagonals measuring 50cm and 20cm, what is the perimeter? And approximate the numbers to 0,1"

William did a few calculations on his notebook and in his head, before answering: "107,6 cm"

Layla clapped her hands. "Bon travaille William, tu prendras une note très haute!" **(A/N : Great job William, you'll get a very high grade!)**

Meanwhile, Yumi was questioning Ulrich and Odd about their English Literature test: "Ok, one last time: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was written…?"

"Between 1590 and 1597 by William Shakespeare" Answered Ulrich.

"And it talks about…" she pointed at Odd for him to answer.

"Ehm…four lovers, two fairies and a….whatchamacallit…pixie?"

Yumi sighed and handed him his notes. "Odd, does the word 'study' mean anything to you? You can't cheat on Jeremy this time, this is one of the most important tests of the year!"

"Well, have you tried studying this stuff? It's boring as heck!" the hybrid complained.

"I'll help you if you want" Layla grabbed her things and walked towards him, then sat down to take a look at the notes in his hands. "William is ready for his math test and Yumi can study for the history one with him"

The ninja nodded and walked towards the dark-haired Lyoko Warrior; Ulrich didn't say anything, but merely took out his French book and began repeating what he had to study to himself.

"Ok, here's what we'll do" the tamer explained to the hybrid. "We're going to go through these notes carefully and then we'll each write a summary; the author of the best one gets the other's desserts for a week. Deal?"

Odd nodded. "Deal; I'm going to crush you, tamer"

"We'll see"

Jeremy was working on a program for Lyoko Reign and Aelita was helping him. She watched her five friends and smiled.

"They're all getting along" she whispered to her secret boyfriend.

The genius paused his work to look at them; he nodded: "Ulrich doesn't seem to be bothered by Yumi and William spending time together and Layla is helping Odd study; this is improvement in our team"

"Yeah" the pinkette leaned closer to his ear. "And it leaves us more time alone"

Jeremy blushed a little and nodded. "Speaking of dating…" he scratched his head nervously. "How about we…we go and see a movie this weekend?"

Aelita looked at the screen again and slowly nodded. "We deserve it: between Lyoko and schoolwork, we're both working like mules all day and all night"

"What about…" Jeremy never finished his phrase: the Supercomputer beeped several times and a big (+) appeared on the screen.

"YES!" he yelled, jumping from his chair. "Guys, I did it!"

"Did what?" asked five different voices.

Aelita hugged Jeremy happily. "He found the bonus power source!"

"What!" Odd exclaimed. "You've gotta be kidding me! You had a program to find it all along?"

"I kinda did" the genius confessed. "But it was an experimental program; thanks to the data you found on Lyoko Reign, I was able to complete it and launch the scan; it finally found it!"

"We have to go and get it" Aelita looked at her friends. "Who's with me?"

"What? Now?" William shook his head. "Sorry Aelita, but I can't: it's either the test or I flunk history"

Even though she was slightly disappointed, the pinkette knew he was right: the warrior had been working very hard on his grades earlier this semester, but fighting X.A.N.A. had left him with an average below what he planned; his only chance was this test which, as Yumi said before, this was one of the most important of the year…and his only chance in passing one of his least favorite subjects.

"I could go" Layla offered, standing up. "Tests aren't a problem with me" she tapped her temple with her index finger. "I've got a remarkable memory"

Jeremy nodded. "Ok, you can go, but we need someone else to protect you; any volunteers?"

The tamer crossed her arms and frowned. "Einstein, I'm not a damsel in distress, I can perfectly…"

"I could go" Yumi stood up. "Lessons aren't a problem with me either"

"No fair!" Odd pouted. "All the girls have no problems with studying so they can go and have fun!"

"Just work on your notes, Odd" Layla winked at him. "I'll be back soon, 'kay?"

Winking was her secret weapon. She could wink in a friendly way and in a flirty kind of way and they both came in handy: the first to appear like a good and trustful friend and the second to 'corrupt' boys in keeping secrets or passing notes or, in this case, toying around with her crush and best friend's feelings for her.

Of all the males at Kadic, everyone knew that the first to fall for her wink was Odd and it didn't took long for her to find out either. So, as expected, the hybrid literally _melted_ under that wink and had barely enough strength to nod.

"Go ahead…" he mumbled. "Go ahead…"

Layla flashed him a smile before walking towards the elevator, Aelita and Yumi following behind.

"Odd, you can quit looking like a fool" Ulrich told his best friend, as he closed his book. The hybrid didn't move an inch.

The samurai noticed and scooted towards him. "Hellooooo! Earth to Odd" He waved his hand in front of his roommate's face, but the boy remained in a trance.

"Layla, Layla…" he murmured. "She's such an angel…"

Jeremy turned towards the two teens and stared at Odd for a few seconds, before pushing upwards his glasses and proclaiming:

"I think we lost him"

* * *

"How can you do that?" Yumi asked Layla.

She smirked. "I learned a few of his flirting tricks; the rest comes naturally" she flicked her messy hair with fake vanity.

"Not to mention" Aelita added, giggling. "The fact that he basically gawks at you when you're in Lyoko!"

"Ah, he does?" The tamer quirked an eyebrow cheekily. "Well, well, looks like I found the director of my fanclub!"

The three girls laughed aloud and in perfect sync at the last statement.

"I think William is falling too" Yumi whispered when they all had stopped laughing. "He hasn't said anything flirty to me for weeks"

"Maybe he's more mature" Aelita pointed out. Layla shook her head.

"Na, je crois qu'il est seulement jaloux de moi et Odd" **(A/N : "Na, I think he's just jealous of me and Odd")**

The two other Lyoko Warriors stared back at the girl.

"You know," the tamer continued. "When Odd and I made that girls-better-than-boys bet, he was the last to be first-aided and by none other than Aelita; and I swear, when it was his turn, I think I saw him shooting dagger eyes at Odd because I was aiding him!"

Yumi gasped. "You don't say!"

Layla nodded. "I think he was shooting some looks at Ulrich too, but that's natural for him, so I didn't bother"

"Interesting…"

Aelita giggled a little, which caught the two girls' attention; when she saw their questioning looks, she stopped to explain: "I just think it's funny the fact that we're all gossiping like Sissi!"

Yumi and Layla looked at each other and realized the pinkette was right: they were indeed all gossiping like girls their age usually did.

"Well" Aelita added. "It's not a bad thing; it's actually a way to bond better without the boys"

"We should have a sleepover sometime" Yumi observed. "Maybe when X.A.N.A.'s gone"

"C'est une bonne idée" Layla agreed, though she felt a weird sensation when the ninja said the last three words…

* * *

 _Another scream. And another. And another. Then there was a voice, someone calling for help, but the voice was distorted. It screamed for help again and again. Then, there was another scream, the scream of a girl, and she was crying for help too, it was horrible. She screamed once again, before there was another sound, a terrible sound, meaning something horrible was happening._

* * *

 _And after that, there was only silence._

"Layla" Yumi called to her friend. "Hello?"

"Huh? What?" The tamer returned back to reality. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"The elevator stopped"

The doors opened just as she said that and the three girls looked around the scanner room, waiting for one of them to make the first step.

As if ordered to, Aelita walked slowly towards one of the scanners and entered it, waiting for it to close. Yumi and Layla followed shortly after.

It was then, in that little tube-like system, what separated a human from Lyoko, that Layla felt it for the first time in that day.

Her belt was pulsing and on further inspection, one of the medallions was glowing red.

Her eyes turned white for a second as she had a vision.

"X.A.N.A., don't!" she screamed, but it was too late. In a blink of an eye, two surprised screams erupted, followed by pounding sounds and, suddenly, the young girl calmly realized she was surrounded by yellow light.

X.A.N.A. had trapped them in the scanners.

* * *

"Aelita!"

Jeremy called for his love, but the only thing he got was a desperate call for a help, followed by another scream.

"Yumi! Layla! Answer me, please!"

* * *

Layla was in her scanner, her eyes closed.

"Jeremy" she called in a peaceful tone. "X.A.N.A. blocked us in the scanners; I'm ok, but something tells me the others aren't; you have to open them, quick"

She knelt down and smiled. "I have faith in you, Einstein"

* * *

Jeremy checked his controls several times and typed every single combination he could come up with, but all he had was (!).

"This is impossible!" he yelled, banging his fist in frustration.

"Jeremy, why aren't the scanners opening?" Ulrich demanded.

"I don't know; the computer thinks they're transferring, which leaves me very few things I can do without hurting them "

"Have you tried completing the virtualization program?" Layla suggested. "Maybe the scanners will open"

"And make it quick!" Yumi added. "I don't know what's going on in Aelita's scanner, but I don't think he's covering her with roses for sure!"

Jeremy sighed and polished his glasses with a tissue. "I'll try it; let's hope it works…" he nervously typed the right keys.

"Transfer Layla; Transfer Aelita; Transfer Yumi; Scanner Layla; Scanner Aelita; Scanner Yumi" he pressed the enter key. "Virtualization"

"We'll go check on them" Ulrich said, as he and the other three boys ran towards the ladder.

* * *

It had worked, just like she predicted; the scanners had finished the process and had finally opened. Layla sighed and took a deep breath of fresh air before toppling out in a dead faint. She was the first to come out.

"Layla!"

Odd rocketed towards the girl of his dreams and knelt down to feel her pulse; satisfied she was still alive, he laid her head on his lap and started stroking her hair.

Meanwhile, Ulrich had caught Yumi just in time before she fell and was now trying to shake her awake. William waited for Aelita's scanner to open; when it did, it took him a few seconds to realize she was laying on the floor, curled up in a ball and shaking all over.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked, shaking her shoulder. Aelita opened her eyes ever slightly and looked at the warrior.

"X.A.N.A…." she murmured. "He…"

"It's going to be ok, he's not here anymore" William reassured her.

"He…" she stood up, covering her eyes. "Too bright…"

"Aelita?" Yumi, who had just woken up, looked at her friend. "Is something wrong?"

"Bright light…bright scanner…dark eyes…" she walked towards a wall, stumbling dizzily. "Do not mess with my power…do not mess with my power…"

"Aelita" William reached for her arm and turned her around. "What are you…Great Megatanks!"

Ulrich, Yumi and Odd looked at him, surprised at his exclamation. The warrior looked at them, then backed away to the left to let them see their friend; when they saw her, their eyes widened as plates: Aelita's beautiful green eyes were now a light grey.

She was blind.

* * *

Jeremy checked the scan results he had launched on all of the girls.

"Layla just fainted, probably from lack of air" he explained. "She'll be ok in a few hours"

"What about Yumi?" Ulrich inquired.

"She said X.A.N.A. kept modifying the temperature in her scanner, from overheat to freezing cold and vice versa" the genius pointed at the screen. "I don't know how she managed to only catch a slight fever with that one"

"Hopefully it's not another one of that deadly viruses like last time" William said.

"And Aelita?" Odd asked. "Is she going to be ok?"

"I'm checking her now…" Jeremy replied, typing a few keys. "It will be just a matter of seconds…"

They waited for the bar on the screen to fill up, then a window popped up, showing Aelita's status. A big (!) also appeared near it.

"No!" Jeremy exclaimed, punching one of the armrests in frustration. "I'm going to kill him…"

"Why? What happened?" The hybrid asked.

"X.A.N.A….I thought he used a program or a virus or something to mess with her eye system, but…" a few tear fell from his eyes. "He…he exposed her to too much light in the scanner…"

"You don't mean she's…"

Yumi walked out of the scanner and caught Aelita just as she fell from it, tears stinging her grey eyes.

"I'm so sorry Aelita, but he blinded you fair and square; there's little I can do to fix it"

* * *

Layla woke up in the infirmary. She stood up, a soaked towel falling from her forehead, and looked around.

"Aelita…" she murmured. "Do not mess with my power…"

The tamer clutched her temples.

 _He knows._ She thought. _He knows where it is._

* * *

"I'm going to kill him!"

They were all in Jeremy's room, all apart from Layla and Yumi, who had been recommended to go home and rest; Odd was sitting on Jeremy's bed, an arm over Aelita's shoulder, William was cross-legged on the floor and Ulrich was on the desk chair, while the genius was pacing back and forth.

"I'm going to slay him! I'm going to get that multi-agent program again and destroy him over and over until I find that power source, and then I'm going to destroy that too, and then I'm going to kill him one last time, and then…"

"Einstein, calm down!" Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Get back to Earth and use your common sense; what sort of plan is even that?"

Jeremy stopped pacing and took a few deep breaths. "It's just that he shouldn't have touched my…" He was about to say "My girlfriend", but re-formulated his phrase just in time "He shouldn't have touched Aelita!"

"Are you saying X.A.N.A. should've blinded Yumi or Layla?" William asked.

"No, of course not; but this is low even for him!"

"Well, there's very little we can do at this point" Odd sighed. "Test is tomorrow and I still have to study French"

Jeremy frowned. "I also have to work on a firewall to protect the scanners from further attacks, so we can't go in a hurry"

"We've got another problem" William pointed at Aelita. "Aelita can't go around school like that; someone's bound to get suspicious"

"We'll have to do something" Jeremy bent down and examined the pinkette's grey eyes. "How much can you see, Aelita?"

She looked at him – or at least tried to. "Nothing" she confessed. "Everything's blurry and out of focus"

"This is bad news" The genius frowned. "You're too young for any operations, not mentioning the fact you don't have authorization from an adult, and we don't have the money, anyway; we could definitely buy contacts to cover it up and help you get some eyesight, but for how long?"

"I can buy contacts" Ulrich offered, checking his watch. "I have to go to the shops anyway; the problem is that I can't take her with me: many students are out at this hour"

Jeremy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We could dress her up and put a wig" he suggested. "But where can we find a wig…"

They all turned towards Odd with sly smiles.

"What?" he asked.

"You have access to the storage room in the theatre" said William. "There're bound to have some wigs there"

Odd shrugged. "That's all? I thought you were going to make me dance naked in public or something" he turned towards Aelita and smiled. "I'll get you a nice wig, Princess" and he left the room.

* * *

"This wig itches" Aelita whispered, scratching her head. "Where did they buy it? In the flea market?"

Ulrich sighed. "I honestly don't know how can they buy some stuff or if they even tried it on someone before letting kids use it"

Aelita nodded and looked around: she was at the optician's with the samurai, waiting patiently for the man to arrive back with the lenses he had promised to bring.

 _Let's hope they'll work._ She thought, worried. _The last thing I want to do is get all of us in trouble…_

"Here you are, miss" the man arrived with a few little boxes. "Green contact lenses, exactly your graduation"

He carefully placed two in her eyes. "So, how do you feel?"

Aelita looked around. Things were less blurry now, but she didn't feel quite right.

 _Maybe it's the fact that I'm not used to it._ She thought.

"Can I try the others?" she asked.

"Of course, miss" the man answered. "So, here's how you take them off…"

* * *

A few minutes later, Aelita had sneaked back into Kadic wearing green contact lenses which matched her eyes. She decided to visit Jeremy in his room to keep him company.

"Jeremy?" she knocked on the door.

"It's open" the genius answered.

The pinkette opened it slightly and looked inside; her secret boyfriend was where she expected: in front of his computer, working.

"Hi Aelita" he said, turning around. She jumped in his arms, happily.

"I bought them!" she squealed, pointing at her eyes. "What do you think?"

He smiled at her. "They're just like the original"

She hugged him again, tears in her eyes. "Jeremy, will I be ever able to see again?"

He sighed and hugged her back. "I don't know, Ai" he said. "I don't know"

They remained like that for a few minutes, in each other's arms; they didn't speak or move, if it wasn't for the faint sound of them breathing it would've loked like they were stone. Then, after what looked like an hour, Aelita broke the silence:

"You know, Jeremy, there's something weird about these contact lenses…"

"What?" he asked, curiously bringing her to eye level.

The pinkette took her lenses off and examined them on her palm. "It's just that…I tried each and every one of them, but I still see a bit blurry"

"Blurry?" The genius repeated.

"Yes, blurry"

Jeremy scratched his chin, thoughtfully, as he stared at the contact lenses. "The lenses are brand new and clean; so, why do you…" then it hit him like a thunderbolt: what if she wasn't entirely naturally blind?

 _I've already checked._ He thought. _But X.A.N.A.'s a sly one; he might've disguised the bug or whatever he used._

Jeremy turned towards his computer and started typing.

"Something wrong?" Aelita asked.

"No" the genius answered. "Just something that came into my mind…"

* * *

Layla woke up again. She had fallen asleep for the third time that day ever since her accident in the scanner.

"Hey"

The tamer jumped slightly in surprise at the voice; she turned towards the speaker and was glad to find Odd.

"Hey" she greeted, smiling.

"How are you?" he asked.

She felt her head. "A little exhausted, but fine"

"You've been here for quite a while, you know" he said. "I was getting worried"

The tamer nodded, still smiling. "You know, I keep having weird dreams"

"Really?"

"Yeah" she sighed and gazed at the infirmary ceiling. "There's one which I keep having repeatedly: at first, it's all dark, like someone covered my eyes; then I see a light in front of me and I try to reach for it but I can't, so I walk towards it. I'm walking for a while and I trip over something and I go see what it is" she paused for a few seconds. "It's a tombstone; near it, there are other seven. I try to read what they say, but they're all scratched up, so it's hard; I can make out a few letters of the first few, but I can't see the others…than I see the light again, near the last tombstone, and I try to read it, the writing I mean, and it says…" she took another deep breath and squinted her eyes shut.

"What? What does it say" asked Odd.

Layla took his hand and squeezed it tight, before calming down and opening her eyes. She looked at the hybrid and whispered a few words:

"Another Name Another Xana victim"

* * *

Aelita screamed as she missed her footing again. "Jeremy! Help!"

The genius reached for her just in time and looked at her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm here"

She buried her face in his chest. "Don't leave me"

He smiled and stroked her hair. "I'm not going to leave you, I promise"

Aelita looked at him (or, at least, tried to). "Are you sure this is going to work?"

He nodded. "I checked the scan again: not all of your eyesight is lost forever; I'm positive some parts of your blindness is just artificial"

"But why do I have to practice being able to see?" The pinkette asked.

"Because on Lyoko, your artificial blindness will take over you and you won't be able to see much" the genius lifted her chin up. "And, when you're in a way tower, I'm sure we'll be able to delete this little 'bug'"

"I hope so" she said, sighing. "I love you"

"I love you too" he smiled and kissed her.

When they parted, Aelita looked in front of her with blind eyes and attempted to walk, but stopped.

"I can't do it!" she protested. "What if I mess up and end up with a concussion?"

"Don't worry, everything's going to be alright" the genius reassured her. "Take my hand and walk with me; one step at a time…"

She closed her eyes and listened to his steps; she then started to walk herself.

"That's it! See, you have nothing to worry about" he said.

Aelita nodded and continued to concentrate: spending a year and more on Lyoko and listening to pulsations had been good exercise for her ears and she knew that it would turn useful in this situation.

An hour later, she could successfully walk her way around the room and recognized where steps were going and coming from.

"Good job, Aelita" Jeremy smiled at her. "This will probably be enough for you to walk on Lyoko; your Sixth Sense and the others will help you with the rest"

Aelita smiled proudly. "I couldn't have done it without you, you know"

Jeremy blushed slightly. "Well, I guess I did help a little" he admitted. "But most of it came from you, you know" he then grabbed the contact lenses. "Now, stand still, I'll put back the lenses on"

* * *

The next morning was bright and sunny, which wasn't really the right weather for test days. The group was sitting near their benches, Odd playing a video game, William reading his history notes, Ulrich trying to memorize dates and facts, Aelita and Jeremy talking about her eyes and the 'artificial blindness', Yumi and Layla talking about her dreams.

"'Another name another X.A.N.A. victim'?" the ninja repeated. "What does it mean?"

The tamer shrugged. "I don't know; every time I feel like I've seen it before, that memory just disappears"

"Weird" Yumi admitted.

Layla nodded. "It's been like this for a while now…"

Suddenly, there was a beep from the computer. Jeremy checked it and he slapped himself: "Oh no, not now…"

"Why? What happened?" they all asked, worried.

The genius sighed. "X.A.N.A.'s on Lyoko Reign; he's trying to get the back-up source"

"What!" Ulrich exclaimed. "Now?" he grabbed his head with both hands. "I can't go now, if I miss this test my parents will kill me!"

"Ditto" said William. "I need to pass maths and history, like, now"

Jeremy sighed. "Ok, guys, I understand; you'll join us when you can"

"Us?" Odd repeated. "I…uh…I'm honestly not sure, Einstein; I mean, I'd love to come, but I…I kinda…"

Layla facepalmed. "Don't tell me you used the bathroom and infirmary excuse too many times!"

"Uh…yeah…" the hybrid nervously scratched the back of his head. "I'm afraid I won't be of any use, so…sorry"

"Never mind, we understand" Aelita reassured him. Just then, the bell rang.

Jeremy put his laptop away. "Guess that by this rate only Aelita and Layla will be fast enough to finish their tests; girls, as soon as it's over, use the bathroom strategy. Everyone else can join us when they're ready"

They all nodded and headed to their respective classes.

* * *

It was a good thing that they all had their two tests were both handed from the start…at least, it was for the brainy Lyoko Warriors.

Layla was the first to finish her tests and she used the bathroom strategy to get out of class. She walked towards the classroom where Jeremy and Aelita were having their tests and waited; she had stood there for roughly three minutes when she got a text from Aelita:

' _We've got two hours of Science first; you go ahead'_

"Stupid teachers" she mumbled as she walked towards the exit. Taking care not to be seen, she materialized the Overboard and climbed on it before speeding towards the forest.

* * *

"How did she manage to finish the test so quickly?" Yumi wondered, as she racked her brains in search of the right answer to the next question. "Maybe I should've asked her for help…"

* * *

Layla entered the factory and slid down the rope. She then arrived at the elevator and pressed the button to go down.

"I hope I'm not too late" she said to herself, crossing her fingers.

* * *

For once, Jeremy was wishing the Science lesson was already over. He had resisted the urge to call out for Mrs. Hertz to stop and let him go and help his girlfriend's eyesight, but he would've looked stupid.

"How's the source?" Aelita asked him.

Jeremy quietly opened his laptop and peeked at it. "It's well protected, but X.A.N.A.'s sending more monsters"

* * *

"…And that's it!"

Layla punched the last code on the computer. "It'll be faster to find the opening in Sector 5 rather than use the Skid; plus, the others might need to use it later"

The tamer climbed down the ladder and entered one of the scanners, patiently waiting for the virtualization to start.

"I hope the shield I added works…"

* * *

She landed on the hard Sector 5 floor with a thump.

"The Arena is probably going to be stashed with monsters" she said to herself. "I need some backup" the tamer looked behind her and smiled at the blue monsters. "And that's why you're all here, mes chéris"

The tamer walked shyly inside the Arena, looking around her.

"Hello? Anyone?" she asked aloud. A Creeper screech echoed in response.

Layla quickly took out her whip and let her wings sprout from her back. "Where are you, Creepy Creeper, hm?"

There was another screech, but still not monster. Layla closed her eyes and felt the world spin around her as she evoked Aelita's Sixth Sense.

She took a good look around, then her eyes shot wide open in realization.

Her wings moved instantly as she protected herself from the incoming laser.

"Well well, X.A.N.A." she said, connecting the end of her whip to the symbol. "Invisible monsters guarding the Arena? Tch!" she fired an arrow to the invisible Creeper.

"Now, where are your friends?"

* * *

Finally! The first hour had ended.

"This is torture" Jeremy mumbled, checking the map on Lyoko on his PC for the umpteenth time. "There are more monsters by the minute! Where's Layla?"

* * *

"Banzai!"

The tamer jumped on an invisible creeper and drove it towards a gap on the ground, where it fell.

Layla: 90

"Well, Einstein, so much for damsel in distress" she said; she then turned towards the monsters. "You Krabs and Megatanks stay here; Tarantula, Bloks, come with me"

They obeyed her and she went towards the elevator. Lucky for her, her monsters were very quick in catching it.

* * *

At last, Yumi had finished her tests. Now she could finally leave to help her friends.

"Miss, may I go to the bathroom?" she asked. Not even waiting for a reply, she left the room in a hurry, heading towards the boiler room.

* * *

Yumi found herself alone in the lab room. She walked towards the computer and put on the headset.

"Layla! Aelita! Is there anyone here?"

"Yumi!" the tamer nearly lost one of the Bloks because of her sudden surprise. "Ooops, sorry buddy…I'm near the Secret Passage in Sector 5"

"I can see that; but I can also see your Life Points have dropped to 80" The ninja observed.

"Just taking a few monsters with Telekenisis" Layla explained. "And…done! Ok, now I'm ready to go in myself"

"I'll join you now" the ninja typed in the delayed virtualisation.

* * *

Layla arrived in Lyoko Reign just in time to kill a new pack of monsters whic was passing by to meet their companions further away; only a Kankrelat managed to survive.

"Now, sir" she pointed an arrow at his target. "You tell me where your alive friends are or you'll join the dead ones"

* * *

"Stupid Creepers!" Yumi mumbled as she avoided another laser. "They're just slowing me down, I have to go!" and she headed towards the Celestial Dome on her Overwing.

* * *

"Layla, what are you doing?" the ninja stared at the tamer, who was pointing an arrow at the helpless Kankrelat.

"You'd better not lie!" Layla yelled at it. "Or else, you'll never see the artificial light of Lyoko again"

Intimidated, the monster scuttled towards the left, nodding for the two Warriors to follow him.

"Wow, how did you do that?" Yumi asked Layla.

She smiled. "These guys aren't that stupid; they know a threat when they see it"

* * *

William scratched his head, thoughtfully. Who was the President during that period again?

His phone vibrated in his hand; taking care not to be seen, he answered the call: "Jeremy?"

"William, move now, we have still a lot to do here" the genius answered. "Layla and Yumi are getting closer, but they still need help; I'll send you a text with the necessary instructions"

"Try to make it simple" The Warrior added through clenched teeth, before hanging up, putting a random President as the answer, handing it to the teacher and zooming out of the classroom.

* * *

"I'll never get over the coolness of this place" William murmured while looking briefly around, before sitting down on the chair; he stared at the keyboard. "Now, first thing's first, I'll get in contact with the girls"

He put on the headset. "Hello? Layla, Yumi, can you hear me?"

"William?" Layla answered. "We're almost there"

"I can see that" the warrior answered. "I'm going to join you shortly, but there's a problem?"

"What problem?" Yumi asked.

"Well, Jeremy told me about this program to virtualize us directly in Lyoko Reign, but I'm worried of the consequences…I mean, what if I'm virtualized without my arms or don't get virtualized at all?"

The ninja's mind briefly drifted off to that time the Sector 5 virtualization program was first tested and Ulrich nearly didn't make it back.

"You shouldn't risk it" she suggested. "Use the other way"

"But Yumi" Layla protested. "The back-up power is guarded by tons of monsters and we need Wiliam ASAP"

"I wouldn't take unnecessary risks if I were in you" Yumi snapped. "Do you even care for your teammates?"

The tamer went silent and she lowered her head sadly, somehow feeling the pain of what she said.

"But you were the one who died for Lyoko Reign's safety" she murmured to herself.

* * *

"Ok then, I'll go to Sector 5" William gulped a little as he typed the instructions from the message. "I hope it works…"

* * *

"We're here" Layla said, as she stared at what was in front of her: millions of monsters awaited them, some trying to destroy the shields the back-up power was in, some guarding those who were doing the first.

The Kankrelat was about to scuttle to warn them, but Layla sliced him with her arrow.

"Maybe we should use that red powerful thing of yours" Yumi suggested.

"I can try…" the tamer knelt down and tried to grab whatever that thing was inside her. Meanwhile, Yumi was trying to hit some monsters, taking care not to create suspicion.

Layla concentrated really hard; she could feel something warm inside her and it seemed ready to leap out.

 _That's it!_ She thought. _Now I only need to control it…_

Something hit her arm. This broke her trance, but not the control over her power; as she stood up, she opened her eyes which were a crimson red and they looked evilly at the Krabe which had hit her.

"You little creep" Her voice was slightly distorted and her fists buzzed with electricity. "Didn't they teach you manners?" she lifted her palm and pointed it at him.

The blood red lightning bolt devirtualized both the monster and the three behind him.

"Yumi!" Her voice was now back to normal, as the red in her eyes faded. "Protect..."

She was interrupted by a voice in her head.

 _Do not mess with my power._

Somehow, this made her feel mad; she had heard that voice in the scanner, in her dreams from last night, everywhere, and it was getting on her nerves. It was actually no surprise that she literally exploded when she heard it once again.

"It's...not…yours!" The tamer screamed, as she shot other lightning bolts at the monsters.

"Layla, what are you doing!" Yumi exclaimed, but she got distracted and was shot down by a Megatank, devirtualized in an instant.

The tamer felt herself filled with power but it was too much for her to bear. She lowered herself a little to the ground, the red lightning bolts crawling all over the place and destroying each and every monster.

"Help!" she screamed, clutching her spinning head. "I can't control it!"

The world around her span and span, and she felt a burning sensation all over her body. Tiredness overtook her and she crumpled to the ground in a dead faint, while Lyoko Reign shined a bright red.

Layla: 0

* * *

The tamer woke up in a white space; where was she?

"Am I dead?" She wondered aloud, examining her hands to check if she was digital or normal; no, she was the first.

"Anyone here?" the tamer called aloud.

She felt something in response: wind, a gentle breeze brushing her cheek.

"Sweet Layla" a voice said. "I am here with you"

"Am I dead?" she asked again, trying to stroke the wind.

"No indeed" the wind brushed past her and she turned around. "You're just in a trance"

"But…the health status"

"It's an emergency process for that power" the voice explained. "Once it gets too strong that it might kill you, you'll immediately get materialized back to Earth"

"So…I'm alive?" the tamer stretched her hand forward.

"Yes, my dear, you are alive and healing" her hand came to a stop, as she felt something warm against her palm: another hand, probably.

"Who…who are you?" she asked.

The voice sighed. "My dear Layla, you will know again when the time is right; remember, though, one thing" the tamer felt something coming close to her ear. "You are…gifted, Layla; and what you know – the real-life powers, the electricity powers, your Lyoko abilities – is just the…tip of the glacier"

The teen felt the wind circling around her, as if it were a dance, and she giggled a little, though she didn't know quite well why.

"It's iceberg" she said, smiling. "The tip of the iceberg..."

* * *

"Look, guys, she's waking up!" Odd exclaimed, as he caressed his angel's cheek while her eyes fluttered open.

Layla smiled when she saw him. "Odd…" she stood up a little and clutched her still burning head and stomach. "What…what happened?"

Jeremy, who was seated in his chair, answered: "You lost control over your destructive power and you fainted; Yumi thought we had lost you because of the health bar dropping to zero, but it turns out you had automatically materialized yourself somehow"

The tamer remembered the voice again and smiled a little. _I wonder who it was…_

"So…" she asked. "Did…did we save the power? Do we have it?"

Everyone's face darkened in the Lab room. Yumi and William both lowered theirs, Ulrich started rubbing his hands nervously, Aelita, who had apparently recovered her savable eyesight, clutched the chair with both hands and Odd and Jeremy remained silent as if trying hard not to speak.

This wasn't a good sign. "Wh-what happened?" the tamer asked, worried. She looked at Odd and grabbed his hand, trembling: "Odd, qu'est-ce que c'est passé sur Lyoko Reign?"

The hybrid sighed a little, then lowered his head.

"According to Einstein, your power destroyed the monsters, but also the shields protecting the back-up power" he explained. "Yumi called us, William tried to protect it, we tried anything, but…" he took a deep breath before announcing the hard truth: "X.A.N.A. got it before we did; he's now got all of his power back, if not more"

Layla gasped and buried her face in her hands, realizing how all of this was her fault.

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Oh, I'm so so so so so so sorry guys!**

 **Odd: It did took you some time to finish this!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I was busy!**

 **Yumi: Yeah, school's hard…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yeah…**

 **Aelita: Hey, what is this? *holds IPad in the air which is playing something***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Give it back!**

 **Layla: Ohh, guys look! Something's playing!**

 **Lyoko Warriors and Layla: *gather around the IPad to watch***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: No!**

 ***20 minutes later***

 **Ulrich: *looks up from IPad* Traitor!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *sigh* What? It's a great cartoon!**

 **Yumi: Yes, but you forgot to update because of it!**

 **Ulrich: And that is abandoning us!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *forms square with her fingers while closing one eye to frame them both* Très bien! You're both perfect!**

 **Ulrich/Yumi: What?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: For the next episode, I mean.**

 **Layla: *claps hands* Ohhh, the ones you have been waiting for so long!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *nods* "Embarrassments": In this episode, we'll have an ending you'll never expect (maybe) and lots and lots and lots of "What the hell's wrong with them"s.**

 **Odd: *reads script* WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE TWO?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: You'd love to know…Oh, yeah, I've heard from somewhere that the next episode has something similar to another fanfic. So, I'd like you to know in advance that I didn't stole the idea, cross my heart *puts hand on heart* I had said episode planned for a long time, anyway.**

 **Layla: So, I'll guess we'll all see you next time.**

 **Aelita: Goodbye everyone!**

 **Lyoko Warriors plus Layla and SecretCodeLyokan: SEE YOU IN THE NEXT EPISODE OF "CASE OF DELENDA"!**


	15. Ep 14: Embarrassments

**Hi guys! I'm sososososososososososososososo sorry I didn't update soon! I hope you had a nice Christmas (or Hanukkah) and a Happy New Year!**

 **I'm really sorry, guys, but I'm trying to work hard for upcoming exams and I couldn't find the notebook where I wrote the ending part of this episode; so, long story short, I had to write it all from scratch -.- dang! I hope it isn't worse!  
**

* * *

 _ **Review Answers:**_

 _ **Tomovlada: Woah, I didn't know that! Thanks for the info! ;) In return, I'll tell you something about this episode:**_

 _ **In my really really really old plot, the blindness idea was originally going to be Episode 4. The plot was about Layla (who had a different name back then) who had been shot in the eyes by an Ice Laser on Lyoko, but the effect somehow lasted on Earth, so the ice part was covering her pupils making her see all blurry; and this was going to last throughout the whole season (they managed to mask it somehow) until the end. So, while structuring "+70", I decided to resurrect the idea and use it for some Jerlita fluff.**_

 _ **LanChest958: Thank you! =^_^= And Special Sneak Peek: in one episode, Aelita's blindness will come back to haunt her…'cause, after all, I said that ¾ of it was artificial, didn't I?**_

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I modified the Episode plot of 1%! You should be happy!**

 **Ulrich: You're sure the title would be good anyway?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yes, don't worry, it'll be fine!**

 **Yumi: *looks at piece of paper* This list is lame!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: You've got no idea how much time did I waste to fit them in the story and come up with them…**

 **Aelita: *shrug* If you like it…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: And shoot, I wish I had planned out my Christmas list a little better!**

 **Layla: Why didn't you add "Fall Of X.A.N.A.?"**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I would've love to, but I don't think my parents would've like the idea of spending over £60 on that thing in Amazon; shame I don't know how my digital money works…**

 **Jeremy: You probably ran out; these things work 'till a certain date, you know…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: We're going off topic; say the disclaimer!**

 **Jeremy: Why me?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: 'Cause you never did! Now go!**

 **Jeremy: SecretCodeLyokan doesn't own Code Lyoko, us, or X.A.N.A.**

 **Layla: She owns me and everything regarding me.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Now, PLACES EVERYONE! Oh, by the way, I already mentioned in the last episode that there would be something here that looks like I copied the idea from somewhere (and I know 'cause I read it!); I remind you that this Episode was structured way long before I ever read that, so I didn't steal the idea.**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 14: Embarrassments**

* * *

It was another pleasant day at Kadic. The sun was shining and many students were outside, waiting for the bell to ring once again for the second hour of school.

The Lyoko Warriors were also waiting for the second bell near their usual benches in the Administration Building, but in silence: it had been three days since X.A.N.A. had taken control of the extra power, but he hadn't attempted any dangerous attack; in fact, he hadn't attacked at all. This was really worrying.

"What is he up to?" Jeremy mumbled for the umpteenth time, while checking his computer.

"Maybe he absorbed too much power and exploded all over the Internet?" Odd suggested, giggling at the thought.

"This is serious Odd; and anyway, I highly doubt it"

Layla meanwhile was curled up in a ball on one of the benches, shivering like mad. She had been having serious panic attacks in these past days because of _his_ voice haunting her mind; and he always said the same thing: _I told you not to mess with my power._

What got her so scared was the thought that maybe the voice was implanted in her brain on purpose to make her lose patience and so unleash her destructive powers (for, surely, if she could somehow materialize Laser Arrows in the real world, then what prohibited her to do the same with that deadly force?) that will destroy Earth; and no amount of cheering up could shake her from this terrible thought.

"Maybe he's waiting for me" she in fact suggested to the genius, a tear sliding down her face as she remembered how she had failed the team.

"Layla, don't worry" Aelita tried to comfort her. "It wasn't your fault; you just lost control…"

"…Which makes it my fault"

"It isn't; X.A.N.A. probably made you lose patience on purpose…"

"But the power is mine and it should be under my responsibility…and my control" The tamer insisted, sadly.

Before the pinkette could continue this 'argument', the bell rang. With a sigh, William jumped up from where he was sitting: "Hel-lo, Science class! Yumi, Layla, are you coming?"

The ninja neutrally stood up and started heading towards the class without stopping to say goodbye or even paying attention to her friends in general.

"Hey, wait for me!" the warrior called to her, as he ran up to catch her.

"Layla, you can't sit here all day; you have to go" Odd told the tamer, tugging at her arm. "Plus, Mrs. Hertz won't easily believe you're sick again when you walked on first period fresh as a daisy…I think"

As much as she hated to admit it, Layla knew he was right; so she sighed deeply to stop trembling and then, with another sigh, she picked up her bag and headed off.

"We'll be late too" Ulrich dead panned. "We have to go"

"You go without me" Jeremy kept his eyes glued on the computer. "I have to finish this program…"

"Einstein, you've been hooked on that piece of microchip since yesterday evening!" The samurai snapped. "If you ask me, you've had enough of computer time; your program can wait for a while"

Odd stared at his best friend with wide eyes: he somehow knew that he was in a bad mood this morning, but this was a bit too much even for him.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked, worried.

"I'm _fine_!" Ulrich yelled at him. "Now let's go, we're five minutes late!"

Aelita quirked an eyebrow at this: there was something off about him which reminded her of something…

* * *

 _It's currently Second Period for the 9_ _th_ _graders; today they have English class and it's…9:15 already? Finally!_

Even though she had always found learning fascinating, Aelita couldn't help but feel a little bored that day. She had spent the last 15 minutes or so pretending she was a detective that had gone back in time to spy on a great crime that was going to happen; she didn't really know why she was thinking that of all things. It was either Jeremy's suggestion of writing a short story for the school newspaper or the Movie Marathon she had done with Odd, Layla and William yesterday which featured detective movies only. Or both.

"Hey Aelita" Odd whispered to the pinkette, shaking her from her thoughts.

She was about to answer, then remembered that she was in front of him and in one of the desks closest to the teacher's, so speaking to him without getting caught would have been slightly difficult.

Taking care not to be seen, Aelita passed him a note: _What?_

 _Have you noticed Ulrich's strange behavior?_ The hybrid wrote back. The young girl could nearly feel the anxiety for her best friend in these words.

 _Do you think it's that easy to miss? Because I don't._

She was about to pass it, but decided to write more.

 _I've never seen him acting so harsh before. Did Kiwi do something bad or was it a parental call?_

Odd read the note three times, while racking his brains to think; no, he didn't remember Ulrich having a phone call while excusing himself somewhere else, nor did his sharp ears caught the familiar ringtone phone or vibration in the middle of the night or the lesson (being a Lyoko Warrior had these kinds of useful bright sides). And he doubted Kiwi was behind this. That's what he wrote back.

 _But I could be wrong._ He added. _Though he would've told us if something with his parents was wrong or if Kiwi did something without me noticing._

 _Still, he doesn't wake up with such a bad mood for nothing._ Aelita insisted. _Has he ever been like this before?_

Odd thought about it again; no, he had never been this moody and hard-headed…though, it did seem pretty familiar…he mentally snapped his fingers. Of course! It wasn't the same, but it was still the closest thing he could relate to.

 _Well, not really, but his behavior reminds me of another "episode" he had. That was a long time ago, when you were still stuck on Lyoko._

The pinkette's curiosity lit up at these words. Jeremy had never told her this story.

 _What happened?_

The hybrid smirked at the memory and ripped a bigger piece of paper from his notebook.

 _It took a REALLY long time, along with lots of begging and pinky swears (maybe also some blackmail), but I managed to get the whole truth out in the end…_

As soon as Odd had finished his story, he tapped Aelita's shoulder. She turned to receive the paper…

"What do you think you're doing, young man!"

The two teens froze: had they been caught? Impossible, the teacher had said 'young man'…

Ulrich rose his head from his piece of paper to find himself in front of the English teacher. "Uhm, hi, ma'am…"

"Stern, you do realize we're in English class here, right?" she snapped.

The samurai turned bright red as she picked up the paper he was writing on. She read it alland then smirked.

"Well, well…" she said aloud. "What interesting ways to apologize…"

The whole class laughed as she read aloud everything written on the list, while Ulrich hid his face behind a book, a little sadly.

"Well, that's mean…" Aelita admitted, as she received the story.

"I know…" The hybrid agreed. "Something tells me this isn't stopping here…"

* * *

Layla stared at her desk-mate with curious eyes; there was something off about her, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

 _Think, Layla._ She told herself. _She hasn't spoken to anyone since she came, she has been concentrating only on the lesson, not even a smile, a sigh, nothing at all…what could that mean?_

She racked half of her brains, while the other half registered what the teacher was saying…wait a minute, how on Earth could she do that?

She gasped a little when she realized that it was partly working on its own, only stopping once in a while, probably to gather new information.

 _What in the name of Lyoko is wrong with me?_ She thought. _Though, the voice did say I was special…_

Another thing to note: she had gasped, but her desk-mate didn't seem to notice at all; she was behaving like an android or as if she was in some sort of trance…

 _Noting last details…_

 _Calculation complete._

As soon as these words rang in her head, the tamer screamed and fell from her seat in shock, much to everyone's surprise.

"Are you alright?" her desk-mate finally snapped from her clone-like behavior and reached for the tamer's hand to help her stand up.

Layla shook a little, placing her hand near her mouth in a way that suggested she was about to bite her fingernails in fear (an urge she resisted).

"No Yumi" the tamer confessed. "I'm no feeling good at all…"

 _I told you not to mess with my power._

 _Oh, ta gueule, X.A.N.A.!_

* * *

Soon after that, it was lunchtime, and the seven friends were all headed to the cafeteria. The first to come were the younger Lyoko Warriors (Odd looking hungry, Jeremy with his guard up and on the lookout for anything ab-normal and Aelita thinking about the story she had been told), followed by Yumi and Layla; the last to come five3 minutes later was William, who had stayed behind because he had forgotten his coat in class.

When the warrior arrived, though, instead of six people seated at the table, they were only five.

"Where's Layla?" he asked, worried, sitting near Yumi.

"She felt sick and just left" the ninja mumbled, eyes fixed on the plate.

Odd looked at Ulrich while he gobbled his food: the samurai had barely eaten.

"Hey buddy, is something wrong?" he asked.

Ulrich shrugged and continued to pick at his food with the fork. "I'm fine"

 _And he thinks I believe that?_

"You know, if you have something on your mind, you can always tell me" the hybrid insisted.

"I said I'm fine Odd!" the samurai's tone got a little louder. "Just leave me alone!"

"Boys…" Yumi commented loudly, before biting her bread.

Four heads turned in her direction, while she impassively avoided their gaze.

"Is that all you're going to say?" Ulrich replied.

The heads turned again.

"I might add that you're such a huge helper, but that doesn't quite fit right"

How come these guys' necks don't snap while they turn so quickly?

"Can you at least listen to me?" The fork that had been picking at the food for the past five minutes clattered on the tray. And the four followed the sound with wide eyes.

"I think I listened to you enough, you know"

"Ok, I give up; it's useless talking to you anyway" And with one moredagger look in her direction, the samurai continued to pick at his food.

That was when sudden realization came crashing down on the four remaining Lyoko Warriors: Yumi and Ulrich weren't mad for their own private reasons. They were mad at each other.

"Well, we're doomed" Odd remarked to his friends, hoping the two moody ones didn't heard him. "It's a matter of hours before their bad mood spreads to us as well"

"What I really want to know" Aelita said. "Is what happened between them"

The three 9th graders looked at William, but he shook his head: "It's not because of me…this time, at least"

 _And that fact is true since these two would've burst by now._ The pinkette told herself, feeling a bit like the detective from her story.

At that moment, the brunette stood up to throw away his lunch, while being greeted by a couple of mocking students.

"Hey, apologizer, I need to write something for my girlfriend; think you could help me?" Theo joked.

Ulrich resisted the temptation to smack him and slammed his tray right in the middle of the lunch line.

"What are you doing?" Rose was pretty shocked at his gesture. The samurai wanted to explain he had left it there on purpose, but instead mumbled something like: "My bad" and put it near the garbage can. Of course, everyone started mocking him about it.

"Told ya this was going to last" Odd remarked, as Ulrich exited the lunch room.

"Well, he was acting weirdly, though I see no reason to laugh about it…" the genius mumbled, and then turned back towards his food.

"You know how people here are" the hybrid sighed. "Always finding a reason to laugh about someone; especially is someone as popular as Theo is the one to start it"

* * *

Layla laid in her bed, staring at her computer; she yawned a little as she scrolled through at a few images of Lyoko.

"It's a very nice place" She admitted.

 _It used to be prettier._

The tamer jumped at that voice and looked around.

"X.A.N.A.?" her eyes fell on her computer screen. A window opened and the Eye was blinking on it, various binary codes in the screen background.

 _Hello._ The same voice spoke again.

The tamer wanted to scream, but she took a deep breath and faced the enemy with a serious look.

"What do you want?"

 _Do not worry, for I come to you in peace_ he reassured. _And to recommend you to stay in your room for today; your condition is bad._

Layla huffed. "Yeah right, so then you can attack my friends and trap me here? Not happening"

X.A.N.A. laughed. _Layla dear, as much as this hypothesis is indeed possible, I'm afraid you're wrong: I have no need to trap you because you're not as useless-no offense-as the other Warriors and you don't deactivate towers like The Angel._

"But, you could use me against my friends" she suggested.

At this, the AI laughed even louder. _The idea is interesting, but I just need you alive, not under my control._

Layla decided that there really must be a reason why he bypassed her PC firewalls, and she'd rather know the reason why he was here in the first place than argue all day long. And that's what she asked.

 _I already told you, child_. X.A.N.A. answered, while showing her another window, where there were fifteen pages of numbers and data which would've given Odd a headache just looking at them. _I'm being 100,000% honest: your powers have weakened you enormously and not taking care of this hasn't improved your condition; it's nothing serious, of course, but I suggest you to rest for two days maximum._

The tamer examined her data; she read it all and it seemed pretty authentic to her. But…

"Why are you helping me?"

The AI was silent at this for a few seconds. Then, he coldly mumbled: _I have something to do_ before the window closed.

The tamer sighed and closed her PC. She then put it back on her desk and jumped back under the covers, staring at the ceiling.

"I'll ask Yolanda if she can manage to excuse me for these two days" she mumbled aloud. "X.A.N.A. a raison: I've been feeling really weak in these past three days, not to mention the panic attacks…" she felt her forehead. "But what am I supposed to say to her? And what is she doesn't believe me?" The tamer stood up at this, but immediately regretted it as she felt very weak, so she slumped back on the mattress.

"Ow, my head hurts" she mumbled, trying to stand up. "Désolée pour les autres et pour les cours, mais je me sens pire et pire…"

* * *

"Quoi!"

"I'm serious!"

"Of course, it's so obvious! How could I've miss that?"

"Everyone missed that"

"Everyone's weird!"

"You can go back into your room if you want, Layla"

The tamer left the caller on hold as she thanked Yolanda for checking on her ("it's probably a mild fever, you'll feel better in no time if you get plenty of rest" _That was lucky!)_ and exit the infirmary to resume her conversation with Aelita.

"And what exactly did he do that set the laughing button again?"

"He kept trying to stay away from people"

"For the rest of gym class? And how was that funny?"

"Well, he was on the benches, you know, and he kept sliding away from whatever person sat near him, until Sissi came and she started following him; then, he arrived at the edge and fell off"

"Aw, poor guy"

"He was acting really weird, you know; he couldn't stand being five steps closer to a person, he wanted the space to be ten feet or something. He was acting ridiculous, even Jim was laughing in the end!"

"Did he get detention?"

"No, but he received a long pep talk"

"I'm sorry for him" Layla confessed, a little suspicious of the samurai's weird behavior: the list, the lunch mistake, this thing…why did he do that?

"So, you say you're feeling weak?" Aelita had somehow decided to change the subject.

"Yes, it must've been a side effect from the powers or something, I checked" Layla lied; the last thing she wanted to do was telling everyone that she had followed the enemy's advice.

"Well then, get well soon! I have to go now, see ya!" and the pinkette hanged up, then proceeded to inform the rest of the Lyoko Warriors about their friend.

"So, she's sick?" asked Yumi.

"No, she's just feeling a bit drained" Aelita explained. "It probably has something to do with her powers"

"But that was three days ago" Jeremy pointed out.

The pinkette shrugged. "Well, she wasn't herself in these days"

The bell rang just then, announcing the next period. The gang picked up their stuff, ready to head for their classes.

"Well, if there's any attacks, we'll have to do without her" the genius told Aelita, as they walked away, Odd following behind.

"I guess we'll have, even though X.A.N.A. is stronger now" the pinkette agreed. "It will be a bit difficult without her in case of an attack, but at least she'll stay out of danger"

While they were talking, Yumi had just bent down to pick up her bag, when she accidentally bumped into Ulrich who was tying his shoe laces.

"Watch it!" he said.

"So-rry!" she snapped, standing up again and heading for her class. The samurai imitated her not too soon after.

William, who had seen the whole thing, couldn't help but roll his eyes: these two were so mad at each other it was pretty ridiculous!

And deep down, he knew why they were; he knew the whole story from scratch. He just couldn't say it…

* * *

Layla was now in her room, her jacket thrown on the other empty bed and her body curled up under her blankets. She was sleeping, but not really peacefully: her hand was gripping her blanket and worry was painted on her face.

She spend a few other minutes like this, every now and then switching sides, when she suddenly let out a scream:

"ERICA NO!"

The tamer stood up, panting, eyes wide in fear, her heart beating faster by the second. That dream – or rather, that nightmare – was horrible…but, why did it seem so real? Was it another one of her flashback-like dreams about the missing kids' past?

"It was so weird" she mumbled, putting her hand on her head, as she recalled all of the details in her head.

Once she was finished, she felt a memory of a previous dream resurface in her head, once she had been having for a long time and that still haunted her sometimes.

Her eyes widened as she remembered it.

"But…" she mumbled, recalling it. "But didn't Erica die falling in the Digital Sea? It certainly couldn't be possible that…"

The answer hit her like a thunderbolt; but it was temporarily stored away when a familiar beeping sound reached her ears. She slowly turned towards the other bed, hoping she was wrong.

She wasn't. The beeping was really there.

The familiar beeping she hadn't heard in three days.

* * *

"Guys, we've got a problem" Jeremy whispered to his friends, as he closed his PC with worried eyes. "Tower activated in the Desert Sector"

"I guess Math will have to wait then" Odd said quietly, as he raised his hand. "Uh…miss, I don't feel really good; may I go to the infirmary?"

"Very well, Della Robbia" Mrs. Meyer answered with a sigh. "But if you…"

"Miss, may I accompany him?" Aelita raised her hand for permission.

The Math teacher's eyes widened for a few seconds; then they narrowed and she put her hands on her hips. "Does this look like a class you can avoid that easily?"

"Uh…that is why it's better that I keep an eye on them" Jeremy offered, raising his hand and trying to smile.

"And one more for luck" Ulrich also raised his hand.

Mrs. Meyer sighed. "Well, if you really must have three people to accompany-"

"Thank you Miss!" Odd smiled at her as the others went out. "Keep it up and you'll become my favorite teacher!" and with these words, he shut the door and joined the others as they ran.

"Where was the tower again?" he asked the genius.

"Desert Sector, in the pit" was the answer.

Aelita, meanwhile, had had her ear glued to her phone.

"Yumi and William will meet us there" she said, as she pressed the 'hang up' button.

"Yumi and William?" Ulrich repeated, frowning a little.

"Yeah" The hybrid replied. "You got a problem with that?"

"Oh no, everything's fine, me and Yumi are cool now, we're really good friends after all" The samurai said, sarcastically, while everyone mentally rolled their eyes.

* * *

They arrived at the manhole five minutes later, where the two older Lyoko Warriors were waiting.

"Anything abnormal on your side?" William asked, as both Ulrich and Yumi bent down to move the manhole lid and started glaring at each other.

"No; it was actually pretty boring getting here" Odd confessed, while the two Warriors on the ground kept glaring, as if daring each other on who should move the lid.

"Are your hands glued to the ground or something?" Yumi said.

"Ladies first" Ulrich challenged.

"Ok, listen, I'm getting sick of this, will you let me explain or not?" she stopped her angry 'act' and acted a little more serious.

The samurai was about to answer, but Aelita then clapped her hands to get their attention: "Guys, You can have your glare contest later; right now, we have a tower to deactivate"

The two sighed a little and stood up, while William decided to move it himself.

* * *

"So, where's the tower?" Yumi asked, as Jeremy started typing on the keyboard.

"Ice Sector" he answered.

"What?" Aelita's eyes widened. "But…you said Desert Sector!"

"It _was_ on the Desert Sector" he genius explained. "But X.A.N.A. activated another tower and deactivate the previous one…wait!" he looked at the Superscan, who was now beeping again. "Now the activated tower is in the Forest!"

"What game is X.A.N.A. playing?" Odd asked. "Has he redecorated the towers with lightbulbs and switches that activate at long distance or something?"

"Yeah" Ulrich agreed sarcastically. "And maybe he's also planning to do the same to our brains too to make us have stupid ideas when he wants to"

"That's not funny"

"It wasn't supposed to be…"

 _BEEP!_

"That's it!" Jeremy, who had been typing during the whole conversation, snapped his fingers with a satisfied smirk which lasted for about two seconds. "X.A.N.A.'s trying to make us run around in useless circles to deactivate it; I managed to block the current activated tower to keep X.A.N.A. from de-activating it, and he can't activate another one since it would take far too much energy"

"We get it; so, where is it?" William asked, as they went inside the elevator.

"It's the Tower in Sector 5" answered the genius. "I'll materialize you all immediately and make it quick, we don't have much time before X.A.N.A. gets rid of my program"

* * *

"Virtualization!"

Yumi and Aelita dropped to the ground near the boys, ready to fight.

"So, did you miss this place?" the pinkette asked.

"Not really" William confessed. "These days without X.A.N.A. were good"

"And one day they'll be your average day" Jeremy said. "But for now, you all have a job to do"

"Say, Ulrich" Odd turned towards his best friend. "Why are you so hard on Yumi today? You two are behaving like spoiled children! And what's all about your weird behavior this morning?"

"This is none of your business, Odd" Ulrich mumbled, as the door opened.

The five heroes ran towards the tower in silence, each of them partly lost in their own thoughts.

Had it not been for the piercing scream of an upcoming Creeper, one of them would've lost 20 life points in less than two minutes.

"Creepers!" Yumi, who was in front of them, stopped and got her fans ready. "Be careful"

"Guys, there's not much time!" Jeremy exclaimed, as he kept typing frenetically. "I can't hold this 'bug' for much longer; you have to go now!"

"But the Creepers might follow us to the tower! And we probably have a bunch of them already waiting us there" Odd complained.

"We'll have to split up then" Aelita said, as she fired an Energy Field at a Creeper not far away. "William and Odd will come with me, while Ulrich and Yumi will stay here"

"Why do I have to stay with her?" he asked.

"Couldn't we switch partners?" the ninja pushed the samurai towards the pinkette. "You take him and I'll stay here with Odd"

Aelita was a little shocked, but nodded. They all would've stayed a little longer, but a laser fired in their direction, alerting them that the previous killed Creeper's friends had arrived.

"Ok, we're going" Aelita said as she fired another Energy Field towards a Creeper, Ulrich and William behind her.

"So" Odd stretched his paw forward and aimed at one of the monsters. "I'll take the ones that are coming while you'll distract them?"

"Works for me" the ninja answered, as she back-flipped to avoid another laser and sliced the closest Creeper with her fan.

"Laser Arrow!" Odd yelled, as the deadly projectiles were shot from his arm and buried themselves in the upcoming monster's target, disintegrating them in an instant.

* * *

"Jeremy, are we getting closer to the tower?" Aelita asked, looking around. "I don't recognize these walls"

"Ulrich, what is your problem?" William whispered to the samurai. "Yumi told me that…"

"I know what she told you, spare the list!" Ulrich snapped a little quietly. "And it wasn't my fault she…"

"You still should've picked better words" the warrior insisted, crossly.

"Hey guys, what's all the chatter about?" Aelita asked.

"Nothing" They both said, lowering their heads and every once in a while shooting dagger looks at each other.

"The tower isn't far away from you" Jeremy informed. "But there's a few monsters in sight…"

"Did you hear that?" Ulrich's head suddenly shot up.

"Hear what?" the other two Lyoko Warriors asked, as they stopped walking.

"The girl…" the samurai murmured. "I heard a girl calling for…there it is now!"

The three listened hard, but only Aelita and William remained impassive.

"I didn't hear anything" the pinkette insisted. "Maybe it's just a Creeper …"

Ulrich remained silent, wondering if the scream was going to come again, but he didn't hear anything else.

"Or maybe it's just my imagination…" he said, shaking his head. "Come on, we need to go to the tower as quickly as possible…"

The two nodded and followed him as they started to run.

"Keep running" Jeremy said over his earpiece, looking at the screen. "At this pace you'll surely be able to make it in time"

"Why don't you send us our vehicles?" Ulrich asked.

"I would, but I haven't got enough energy" the genius explained. "Sorry guys"

"Well, the most important thing is to keep run…oh!" William stopped on his tracks, as did the others: the hall, which had been a single straight line without even a turn since they had started, now forked in two.

"Jeremy, we have a problem here" Aelita looked at the ground. "The pulsations are divided in two roads and I don't understand which is the original"

"Don't worry Aelita" Jeremy examined the map closely. "Just give me ten seconds and I'll have your answer"

Meanwhile, Ulrich was starting to hear the scream again. He felt it inside his head and it was painful and sad; it felt as if it was calling for him, calling from the road on the right.

"Ulrich, are you ok?" the pinkette asked her friend, noticing how unwell he looked.

"I'm fine" he mumbled. "Just thinking about something…"

He had to see what that voice was. He just _had._ He didn't know why, but it was killing him and he needed to know who it was.

But he couldn't, at least not now; he had a job to do.

"The road you need to take is the left one" Jeremy informed them. "Good luck with the monsters!"

The three nodded and headed towards the right road. Ulrich was about to follow them inside when he heard that voice again.

This time, his curiosity won…

* * *

"We're nearly there, Jeremy!" Aelita fasted her pace as she passed the blue walls, not sowing down even once until, finally, the tower was in sight.

"We've made it!" she exclaimed in joy. It didn't last long, though, as a couple of Creepers guarding the tower heard her and got ready to fight.

"Yes, but we've got company as well!" William murmured, as he materialized his sword in his hand. They were about to start the fight when…

"What's wrong with the Creepers?"

Indeed, the monsters were acting strange: they had their 'noses' in the air, and had seem to completely forgotten their presence.

"It's like as if they're…staring at the ceiling" Aelita tilted her head, with an eyebrow quirked. "But…why?"

Jeremy was about to say something, when the Creepers slowly began to retract and they disappeared in different tunnels behind them.

"Guys, what's going on?" Jeremy asked. "The tower has been deactivated!"

"Jeremy…we don't know" William answered. "The creepers are gone"

"Jeremy, the Creepers have disappeared!" Yumi's voice piped up from the monitor.

The genius scratched his head, thoughtfully. "Well, this is weird…" he said to himself. "I'll bring you back now; it's no use staying on Lyoko anymore"

* * *

"So, you're saying that the Creepers stopped attacking, stared at the ceiling and then backed away?" Jeremy asked.

Aelita nodded. "It was as if they were receiving orders or something"

"Probably from X.A.N.A." Odd suggested, crossing his arms. "And probably, all of this was part of a trap"

"I know" The genius scratched his chin, thoughtfully. "But I don't get it; what _is_ the trap?"

"Guys!" Yumi interrupted the current conversation, and as she looked around, her eyes widened in fear. "Where's Ulrich?"

The other five Lyoko Warriors suddenly realized that she was right: the samurai was nowhere to be seen.

"I thought I materialized him…" Jeremy scratched his head. "But…if he isn't here…"

There was a _thump_ and the others realized it was none other than the ninja, who had crumpled to the floor, a shaking hand covering her mouth.

"Is…is he…"

"Don't worry" William knelt down. "We'll find him; he probably stayed on Lyoko"

She hugged the warrior, shaking a little. "I hope you're right…" she murmured.

* * *

Ulrich woke up with a groan; he only remembered heading for the other corridor, then everything went blank from that point forward. He grumbled again, as he stood up.

"Where am I?" he wondered aloud, looking around. It took a while before his vision could fully focus and, when it did, his eyes widened: he was still on Lyoko, probably still in Sector 5, but…but where, exactly?

The only thing he knew was that he was currently standing inside a room with blue walls, with some 'bricks' sticking too in or out; there was no opening, no door, not even a small crack. He looked up at the ceiling and there wasn't an opening there either, just blue columns; still, the room was filled with an artificial sunlight of some kind.

"Where am I?" he asked again. This time, he heard a cruel laugh echo inside the room.

 _That is an interesting thing you're asking to know._

His eyes narrowed as he quickly grabbed one of his katanas.

"What do you want, X.A.N.A?" he mumbled, coldly.

The laugh again. _Who do you think you're scaring with these swords of yours, Samurai?_ He said. _I'm not in the room, so you can't hit me._

"But I can break out" Ulrich smirked and super-speeded towards a wall; he then hit it repeatedly with his weapon.

He barely made a scratch.

X.A.N.A. laughed at his shocked face: _You think I'm that stupid? I'm not letting my prey go that easily, samurai. Now, put your weapons away and I won't hurt you._

Ulrich sighed and slid his katanas back in their places.

"Why did you bring me here?" he said to the ceiling (his enemy was probably watching from above, somehow).

The AI stayed silent for a while, probably to elaborate what was the correct way to tell him. (or maybe it was to leave suspense?)

 _I want to make a deal with you._ He explained.

"What sort of deal?"

Again, the silence. Ulrich was starting to lose patience, and fought the urge to unsheathe his katanas again and plunge them on the ceiling.

 _A peaceful and harmless deal._ X.A.N.A. said. _You join my side, and none of your friends will get hurt._

"Harmless? This is _blackmail_!" the samurai slid out his katanas once again. "You're asking me to betray my friends! And for what? A dirty life as your minion!"

 _I am surprised, Samurai._ The AI said. _You still want to protect your friends; they laughed at you, they didn't help you; they ignored you…_ he lowered his voice. _The Ninja doesn't even want to speak to you…_

"Shut up!" Ulrich pointed one of his swords at the ceiling. "You know nothing about friends and family! You're just a bunch of binary codes put together!"

 _Actually,_ The AI smiled. _I know more than you._

"You can't! You don't even have emotions!"

 _I developed them._ X.A.N.A. corrected him. _Franz helped me; then he took away everything that I cherished…_

"So what? That doesn't prove anything! I'm human, you're just a brain!"

 _But I know more than you._ The AI continued. _I know how to kill your friends, for example; I know how to kill every single person that you love, even though they're not really nice to you anymore._

"Yumi…" Ulrich felt the grip on his katanas getting weaker; X.A.N.A. barely joked when it was about killing someone. Did he really want to spend the rest of his life being hated even more by his best friends? But if they died, he would never forgive himself…

He took a deep breath, lowered his head and closed his eyes, as the weapons went back in their place. "I'm sorry, guys…" he mumbled. "I hope you will forgive me…"

He opened them again and then faced the ceiling, clenching his fists as he forced the words out.

"I accept"

He could feel the AI grinning back at him. _Very well. Oh, and by the way…_

A sudden screech interrupted him. Ulrich turned around.

"What was that?"

 _I forgot to mention you something about our deal…_ X.A.N.A. laughed as the samurai turned around again to face a monster he hadn't seen in a very long time. _You see, I don't want to take the risk of losing you within five minutes; so I have to take some…_ precautions, _if you don't mind._

Ulrich backed away slowly. "This wasn't part of our deal!" he yelled.

 _I don't think you understand, Samurai._ X.A.N.A. laughed as the katanas the boy had just sheated devirtualized in his hands. _When did I ever play fair in this war?_

The AI laughed again and Ulrich felt himself sweating in fear; what had he done?

"I swear!" he yelled. "When my friends will find out, they'll free me; they will! And when that will happen, I'll tor you apart with my bare hands!"

 _Shh_ The AI whispered. _Don't make promises you can't keep…_

The monster screeched again and the samurai nearly screamed too when his back felt the wall behind him.

 _It's over._ He said to himself. _I lost. I have to do it…I'm sorry guys…_ he closed his eyes. _I'm sorry…Yumi._

He screamed as the tentacles circled around his body and picked him up; his whole body felt numb and his screams got weaker and weaker as the Scyphozoa took control of his mind.

How many minutes passed? I don't know for sure; but I know that, at one point, the deed was done, and X.A.N.A.'s most prized creation finally let go of Ulrich and then crept away, disappearing in the darkness.

The boy groaned a few times, as he picked himself up from the ground; he raised his head and opened his eyes with a smirk.

The X.A.N.A. symbol pulped instead of his irises.

* * *

 **DUN DUN DUN!**

 **And the next episode will have some moments; correction: lots of moments.**

 **Don't look at me like that; my 10-year-old wrote the plot and I want to respect her wish!**

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *cuddle with a red blanket* Why? Why? Why?**

 **Jeremy: What's wrong with her** _ **now?**_

 **Layla: She's having a fictional-character-death crisis.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *starts to cry* I HATE THEM! THEY HAVE TO DIE! THEY KILLED HIM!**

 **Aelita: *sigh* That's a big crisis.**

 **Odd: Well, he** _ **was**_ **her third fictional crush.**

 **Aelita: Third?**

 **Odd: *smirks and points at himself* I'm the first!**

 **Layla: *drags Odd towards her * But he's taken!**

 **Odd: They're all taken…**

 **William: Anyway, since SecretCodeLyokan is having her crisis, _I'll_ give a preview of the next episode: "Soothing The Beast". Two days later, the gang is still searching for Ulrich; Layla has a bad feeling about what happened to him, Yumi is taking the blame and X.A.N.A. strikes again! Will they be able to free him?**

 **Aelita: Here are the previews!**

* * *

" _ **It's all my fault" "For the last time, it isn't!"**_

" _ **I…I think I know how to figure that out" he gave her a small green book. Her eyes widened.**_

" _ **Guys, there's something weird with the towers…"**_

" _ **Oh, Kankrelats…"**_

" _ **Wait! I think I know what to do!"**_

" _ **YUMI!"**_

 _ **He quickly grabbed her hand. "Wait, I have to tell you something first…"**_

* * *

 **Aelita: This time, SecretCodeLyokan has the last part saved on her phone…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *sob sob sob***

 **Aelita: Well, she'll have to get over her crisis first…**

 **Layla: And exams are coming soon for her, so she won't be updating very soon; sorry guys…**

 **Odd: We'll always be here though, don't worry! But we'll still miss you all!**

 **Everyone: See you in the next episode!**


	16. Ep 15: Soothing The Beast

**I'm so sorry for being many months late guys; it was a really busy school year for me, what with exams, new fandoms and all; not to mention panic attacks caused by stress. I hope this long chapter will suffice...**

 **I can't confirm when the next one's coming, but probably in two weeks (I'm updating on weekends from now on).**

* * *

 _ **Review Answers:**_

 _ **Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: William knows about everything of the whole argument, which will be discovered in today's episode. And about Layla's friends…well, it's kinda of an idea I came up with out of the blue (probably the newest idea about the plot up until now), so the story is a little plain for now…but you'll find out one day.**_

 _ **About a possible sequel to Case Of Delenda…I actually had half-ideas of writing a few one-shots about the Lyoko Warriors' lives after this fanfic, and I also had a half-idea to resurrect this sort-of sequel I came up with when I was little. Apart from that, I never really deeply considered the idea, mostly because I'm lacking of an interesting plot…**_

 _ **Josh Xana: Glad you liked it! And, as far as I know, X.A.N.A. never plays fair in this fanfic cuz reasons...**_

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: So, how's everyone?**

 **Yumi: Good; you?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Stressed, but ok.**

 **Layla: Exams, fanfics to update, drawings…that's a lot of stuff you've been having on your mind these past months.  
**

 **SectreCodeLyokan: Don't remind me…**

 **Aelita: So…Episode 15 already…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: We're halfway through, guys; honestly, I can't wait to arrive to Episode 25…where's Ulrich?**

 **Odd: Rehearsing his part.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *smirks* Which part?**

 **Odd: You wish; he's practicing his Xanafied part.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Oh…**

 **Jeremy: Are we ready?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Should I tell them about...?**

 **Aelita: No, not now…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Ok; I haven't posted anything anyway.**

 **Odd: I thou-**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *covers his mouth* I HAVEN'T POSTED ANYTHING!**

 **Odd: Mfmfhmfmhphfmf…**

 **Layla: Anyway, you know the disclaimer, right?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: If I owned Code Lyoko, do you think I'll be hanging around here?**

 **Aelita: Uh, I have to go rehearse my lines now…*walks away***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yeah, this is going to have a few (or a lot) moments in the end, because hey, drama**

 **...**

 **No, I'm kidding; it's just to keep Emily quiet and to make my ten-year-old self happy.**

 **Emily: *pops out of nowhere* You'd better put all of that!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Geesh, take a chill pill girl!**

 **Yumi: Who's that?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: That's Em; she ships you two.**

 **Yumi: 'You two' who?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Nevermind; Emily, go back to Pinky and try and take over my brain together again or whatever.**

 **Emily: She's having a fight with Plein.** _ **(pronounced: Plane).**_

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Not again…Fetch Karen and Wendy and peace them out then.**

 **Emily: They're…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan; Crying their souls out, right, I forgot. Well, go to Maya or Selly or Layla or Erica.**

 **Emily: Mmmm…I'll go to see Phyne. *leaves***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: OH GREAT MEGATANKS NO!**

 **Aelita: Who's Phyne?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I don't want to talk about it here…**

 **Jeremy: Let's go, we're five hundred words late…**

 **Odd: five hundred and three…five hundred and six…five…**

 **Jeremy: Stop it!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: On with the show!**

 ***the curtains go down, just as SecretCodeLyokan bangs her hand against a hard chain***

 **SecretCodeLyokan: SPITFIREE!**

 **Layla: *turns to look at her* What?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Oh, Spitfire, not again..*quickly covers her mouth* Megatanks! I did it again! *quickly runs off stage* GUYS GO ON WITHOUT ME I NEED TO TALK TO PLEIN AND THE OTHER STUPID IDIOTS RIGHT NOW!**

 **Layla: *sigh* Ok…Everyone to their places!**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 15: Soothing The Beast**

Shh _The AI whispered._ Don't make promises you can't keep…

 _The monster screeched again and the samurai nearly screamed too when his back felt the wall behind him._

 _He screamed as the tentacles circled around his body and picked him up; his whole body felt numb and his screams got weaker and weaker as the Scyphozoa took control of his mind._

 _At one point, the deed was done, and X.A.N.A.'s most prized creation finally let go of Ulrich and then crept away, disappearing in the darkness._

 _The boy groaned a few times, as he picked himself up from the ground; he raised his head and opened his eyes with a smirk._

 _The X.A.N.A. symbol pulped instead of his irises._

* * *

"NO!"

Layla woke up from her nightmare with a jolt that made her stand up from her bed, panting hard.

 _Oh my gosh._ She thought. _Was that really just a dream?_

She shivered at the thought of it being real. _No, it can't be…but it looked so…_

The tamer nodded to herself a little: "I should tell them to keep their guard up just in case"

She sighed and threw herself back on the pillow, a hand on her forehead: it had been two days since Ulrich had disappeared and the gang was freaking out. Jeremy had spent five hours trying to come up with a valuable excuse, Yumi kept shaking every time she thought of it (which was basically every single second of her life), Odd was feeling lonesome and Kiwi didn't like the empty bed at all: he kept whining and they had to leave him in the factory at one point because of it. Not to mention the fear that someone would discover the samurai was nowhere on the face of the Earth that was inside all of them, creeping and swirling like a serpent in their stomachs.

The tamer sighed again, sadly. "I should've warned them…" she mumbled. "If my two nightmares were correct, then…Oh Kankrelats…"

She heard a light knock on the door; when Layla turned around to see who it was, Aelita in her pink nightgown entered.

"You ok?" she whispered, closing the door behind her. "I heard you scream"

"It was just a nightmare" Layla shivered as she turned around to sit on her bed, hugging her teddy bear: "It…"

"Where did you get it?" the pinkette interrupted her, then slightly blushed in embarrassment: "Sorry, I was curious…I've always liked that teddy…"

"Oh…" Layla looked at the plush in her hand. "I have my rag-dolls too"

The tamer turned back to get them: one of them was a pretty pink angel-like rag doll, with small pink buttons as eyes; the other one was a princess with raven-colored hair and a green dress.

"You like them?" she asked, with a smile. "Dad gave me the teddy; the dolls were a present from Odette and Erica"

"Wow…" Aelita commented. "They're beautiful; what did you call them?"

"This is Einex" Layla pointed to the raven-haired one. "And this is Tamia" she pointed at the angel.

"And the teddybear?"

Layla caressed one of his ears. "Well…" she said. "He has a weird name…"

Just then, Aelita's phone vibrated in her hand; she held her index finger as a 'one second' sign, then answered.

"Hello? Jeremy?"

* * *

"Aelita, could you come over here?" Jeremy typed on the keyboard, while Odd played with his Game Boy. "I think I found something"

"You said that aloud at least twenty times so far" Odd protested. "What makes you so sure this time?"

"ODd I found a lead" Jeremy turned around hissed back. "It's a good one" he turned back towards his phone. "Anyway, we've got a lead"

* * *

"I'll be there" the pinkette reassured, as she hanged up.

"Einstein found something?" The tamer asked.

"Yeah; you coming?"

"Sure" Layla grabbed her phone and looked at the time: 3:00 am. "But I need to go before seven: I promised to meet Yumi at the bench"

"She hasn't been herself lately" Aelita said, as she peeked out of the door.

"I know; this whole thing is worrying her sick"

"This is Ulrich we're talking about, after all, Layla" the pinkette smiled a little. "You would worry yourself sick for Odd"

"And all of you guys too, you know" the tamer put on her slippers as she opened the door for her, phone in hand. "You are my friends, after all; but yeah," she turned slightly pink. "Maybe...maybe Odd the most"

* * *

The two girls quietly tip-toed towards the door, taking care not to be seen. They went to the boys' dorm and Aelita gently knocked on Jeremy's room.

"It's open" the genius answered.

The two entered immediately, and Layla nearly fell on her face: the whole room had been turned into Paperland and there was barely an free inch to sit down on, let alone walk around the room. Jeremy was on his chair at his desk, typing furiously and Odd was lying on the bed with a frown, his closed Gameboy beside him, probably shut down because of dead batteries.

"Can you please stop tossing paper around the room?" He snorted, as a piece of said item landed on his face. "I'm guessing you're the reason trees are starting to disappear"

Layla and Aelita both chuckled slightly at that.

"I'll send a letter of apology to them later" Jeremy answered. "Right now, I'm trying to find your roommate"

Both blondes' faces fell at that a little, but the genius quickly regained his composure and signed for the pinkette to come closer: "Anyway, Aelita, I called you because I want you to check out this"

The pinkette went to his side, as he opened a few windows to show her a few pictures of what looked like binary code: "According to my searches, the Supercomputer has picked up a few errors, as if part of the system had changed for a limited amount of time. it happened around the time you lost him at the crossroads"

"You're thinking it might be Ulrich?" she asked.

"I'm thinking X.A.N.A.'s behind it, actually; but it might've been to catch him"

While the two continued discussing about various techno-babble and theories, Layla was sitting on the bed, deep in thought, near Odd, who had managed to find some spare batteries and was now continuing his game. At one point, the hybrid noticed the tamer's lack of concentration on the outside world and asked her what was wrong.

"Nightmare..." was t her answer. "It was really weird, as if it was happening right then, at that moment, and I was watching it on a TV...it was also strangely more realistic than any other nightmare I had before..."

"Was it about these kids?"

"No...I mean, the one from two days ago was, but...this one was-"

"That's it!" The genius exclaimed suddenly. "Of course, how could've we been so stupid and blind?"

"We could just locate X.A.N.A.'s signature on Sector 5 and figure out where Ulrich's kept!" Aelita finished the phrase. "We can find him in no time that way!"

"That's great news!" Odd said, looking at them. "How long will it take?"

"I don't know" Jeremy sighed. "For all we know, maybe a whole week; X.A.N.A.'s a sly one, he could mask the trace or even create a fake one"

"Well, give all of your best on this one" the hybrid replied. "I want my best friend back"

"We all want him back" Aelita said. "Not to mention that the whole 'vacation' charade we're making up with isn't going to last long"

 _Last long..._ Layla looked at the digital clock on the table: 4:00 am.

"Maybe I should go and get ready" she stood up from the bed. "I have three hours before Yumi gets here..."

"It's pretty early..."

"I need some time alone, guys" the tamer headed towards the door, and was about to open it when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Can we talk for a second? In private?"

* * *

"What is it, Odd?"

They were now in the hybrid's room, and she was sitting on his bed, petting Kiwi (Odd had insisted to keep him for the night, claiming he was alright now) and patiently waiting for him to explain. He hadn't said anything so far and this had only made her curiosity grow.

"Well..." he sighed and walked towards the table. "Yesterday, I was wondering...if that argument between Yumi and Ulrich had ever happened, would he still be here?"

He turned towards her again, and shrugged: "So, I started to ponder about it: I mean, what if X.A.N.A. used that to his advantage? What if he knew? We already know he's monitoring us some time..."

The tamer stayed silent.

"So, maybe if we could figure out something more about the argument...maybe we could figure out something else? Like, maybe if we were in their shoes, we might understand their situation better, and how they feel about it..." the hybrid sat down on the other bed, and scratched his head, smiling uncertainly. "I mean, it's a pretty stupid idea, but..."

"It makes sense to me" Layla interrupted him. "It's better to examine some of the facts first: you're right, they might useful. Also, maybe I can understand how Yumi feels a little bit more, and it'll be easy to talk to her"

"And I..." he paused for a second, then stood up and walked towards the desk again. "I think I know how to figure that out" He turned back towards her and gave her a small green book. Her eyes widened.

"Odd, I can't-"

"I can't either" the hybrid confessed. "He would never forgive me; I know it's wrong, but...it's the only way..."

"I could ask Yumi"

"Yes, but judging by how mad they are, they each have a version; and we need his" he eyed the journal. "That's the only way; or we could just leave it and forget about my idea..."

Layla looked at the green journal, many thoughts spinning in her head; it was wrong, and probably the worst idea ever, but her nightmare...it had to mean something. And she had a feeling that, while it was indeed going to be one of the worst mistakes in her life, maybe it was worth it, after all. Not to mention that it was for the greater good of the team, and...and she was going to read one passage, that's all.

"But...why me?" she looked at him. "Why not Aelita, or Jeremy?"

"It's best not to bother them; besides, they'll probably start bashing me for even considering the idea" the hybrid smirked. "And I honestly don't trust myself that much; not to mention I don't really want ot invade his privacy. And if you're wondering about William, well...do you think he'll want to read this?"

"This is...weird" Layla looked at the journal. "I'm the newest of the team, but I'm shoved dangerous responsibilities"

"You don't have to..."

"Fine, I'll take it" she nodded, standing up, book in hand. "But no one must know"

"Only read one passage" Odd nodded. "It's not that hard..."

"If you say so..." she opened the door and peeked out. "Wow, no one in sight again; that's lucky"

* * *

Once she had safely entered her room, the young teen proceeded in dressing herself for later; then, she took the book and sat down, making sure the alarm clock was still on, then quickly flipped through the pages, searching for the last entry...

"Here it is" she said a little aloud. "Oh no, wait, this is from the day after..."

She went a page back and there it was. Only one page; it didn't seem that much of a crime.

 _This is it._ She thought, as she silently murmured an apology for invading her friend's privacy.

 _But it's for the greater good._ She convinced herself. Then, she began reading:

* * *

 ** _Journal Entry_**

 ** _Yumi called me just now. She was pretty nervous, and suddenly hanged up. It was really weird...Oh wait a second, she's calling me now..._**

 ** _She hanged up again. I don't understand..._**

 _ **Journal Entry**_

 _ **Something awful happened.** (This is it)  
_

 _ **So, Yumi called me another six times while I was finishing my homework, but she hanged up after less than ten seconds each time. It was getting annoying.  
**_

 _ **So, when she called me, I told her to not hang up again. I think I might've overreacted a little bit, though, (as in, yelling the sentence) because she yelled at me back. I don't remember much of what we said after that, but it wasn't really pleasant.**_

 _ **Maybe I should apologize...**_

* * *

"'Maybe'? More like definitely" Layla rolled her eyes.

* * *

 _ **Journal Entry  
**_

 _ **I can't believe it. Out of all of the people in the world, Yumi called William over. You should've heard what they said: I was unpleasant, obnoxious, and needed to chill. How about maybe she chilled, huh? How about it!**_

 _ **What's wrong with her!**_

* * *

That was all that was written on the entry. But it all made sense now.

"Of course!" Layla face-palmed. "Of _course_ William was dragged into it as well! Like they couldn't do anything better!"

The tamer sighed and looked at the digital clock: 6:40 AM already?

"Guess I should head out..." she mumbled to herself, closing the journal and grabbing her bag. She was just about to fit it in, when something fell out of it.

"What's this?" she looked at it, holding the object between finger and thumb. "Is it..."

She grabbed the book and flipped through its pages: sure enough, she noticed, on the last page, arrows were pointing to nothingness. "Cherry blossom" was written on them.

"Hmmm..." She examined the petal in her hand; there was some small handwriting on it:

 ** _Sorry._**

"Huh" The tamer put it back, then fit the whole journal in the bag and walked off to find Odd.

* * *

A soft breeze was blowing by the time Layla encountered Yumi sitting on a bench. 7 o'clock sharp, just like they had said.

"Salut" she waved with a smile.

Yumi nodded in her direction, but didn't say anything. The tamer sat next to her, worried.

"'You still down because of Ulrich's disappearance?" she asked.

In response, the ninja covered her eyes with one of her hands. "We should've never argued..."

"It was probably an accident-"

"It's all my fault..."

"For the last time, it isn't!" Layla rolled her eyes a little. "Stop placing the blame on yourself; no one started it, people squabble all the time..."

"No, I started it..." she was now covering her whole face. "It was my fault; I don't know why I called him..."

She probably expected lots of confusion from her friend, and was surprised the tamer didn't bat an eye.

"I just..." she uncovered her face, and looked away. "I just want to say apologize...even if it meant not seeing each other ever again, at least I want to see him again one more time and tell him I was sorry..."

Layla opened her mouth to say something, but closed it immediately as she had nothing in mind. She instead sighed and opened the bag, then gave her a small pinkish object with something written on it with a pen.

"Ulrich took the blame too..." she said. "He...he went to apologize, but inadvertently heard you and William talking about him..."

Yumi took the small petal and put it against the light to see the five words written in cursive. She smiled sadly, gulping.

"...I just needed to let it all out...and I don't know why I called him first, it just seemed like the right thing to do..." she confessed.

Layla nodded, then stood up. "Well, I need to get some breakfast now; do you want to join me?"

The ninja hesitated for a few seconds, the nodded and stood up as well.

* * *

Science class on first period. Boring as heck.

At least, for most students; Jeremy was actually enjoying the lesosn, and even Aelita seemed remotely interested, as was Hervè, and maybe one or two students. But that was about it.

Odd yawned loudly for the fifth time as Mrs. Hertz tried to explain electricity yet again to her class, but not everyone was actually paying attention, like mentionede before; in fact, some people were even _sleeping_.

"I suggest you all stop nodding off to sleep, because this is going to be in next week's test" she repeated for the third time to Nicholas. "So open your eyes, Poliakoff"

"Huh?" The slightly dumb minion looked at the teacher with sleepy eyes. "Heidi? Is that you? Did you rethink my proposal?"

"Wha..but...Poliakoff!"

You can guess everyone's reaction at that: the whole class erupted in laughter.

"Well" Odd whispered through giggles to Aelita. "I knew Nicholas was that desperate, but I ddin't think he would try asking out teachers now"

The pinkette chuckled at that. "Maybe he thought he might have a few chances"

Nicholas fell asleep once again after that, and no matter what she did, the science teacher couldn't seem to wake him up.

"By the way, the answer's no!" Heidi added from one of the desks. "I'm still not going out with you"

"This is really not the time, Miss Klinger" Mrs. Hertz nudged the sleeping student. "Poliakoff, wake up or you'll be sent to the principal!"

The answer she got was a huge and loud snore in her face.

Once again, the whole class erupted in laughter.

"He's already failing with his new tactic in asking teachers out" Odd whispered.

Aelita wanted to say something back, but stopped when she heard someone calling her. She turned around to the source, and immediately half-regetted it.

"Listen, Aelita, you'd better tell me the truth now, or else..."

* * *

"So, can anyone tell me how to find the answer?" Miss Meyer looked at her pupils, but none seemed keen on answering. That is, apart from one.

As always, the hand from the third row desk shot up, without hesitation.

"Layla" The math teacher smiled, expecting that hand to come up. "Please go ahead then"

Just as the tamer stood up, she slipped a note to a sleepy-looking William, who immediately raised his head at that. He looked at it, then at Layla, who signed for him behind her back to answer. So he read it:

 _Why didn't you tell us what happened to Yumi and Ulrich?_

"So now she knows?" he grumbled to himself. He wrote something on it, then waited for her to come back and collect it:

 _I don't want to be in the middle of this drama triangle again, much less be identified as one of the cause of their fighting._

He watched her answer the question on the blackboard with ease, and then wrote something else.

 _By the way, how can you calculate all these numbers with ease?_

Layla looked at the slip of paper with a frown. She couldn't really blame him, but the last question puzzled her; it was an easy calculation, _anyone_ could've done it without forcing their own neurons...right?

She looked at the other students; for some reason, their puzzled faces didn't seem to agree.

 _Maybe they didn't understand the question._ she shrugged and returned to her seat, then flipped her hair; she secretly smiled when the teacher slammed her fists on her desk when a few pairs of eyeballs turned in her direction.

* * *

Third period was coming to an end when Jeremy heard his computer ever so slightly beeping.

"Please tell me that's your low-battery notification" Odd tiredly mumbled to the genius in front of him, with half-closed eyes.

Jeremy turned around to quickly grab his bag, stopping for barely a second to give the hybrid a warning expression.

"Perfect" The hybrid rested his cheek on his hand, then yawned again, as the genius opened his laptop under the desk.

"Ulrich would've never left without telling me" Sissi insisted to Aelita. "So tell me where he really is"

"I already told you, I only know he's away with his parents"

"You're lying; Odd?"

"She's telling the truth" was his short and tired reply, then he turned towards the genius: "Why can't she give us a break? This is the fortieth time she's asked..."

"Eh...Odd..." The genius interrupted him, as he typed on his computer with a worried expression. "How long until..."

Just then, the bell rang, scaring the living daylights out of the two teens.

The students started making their way to the exits; but, as soon as Jeremy was out, he literally bolted out of the building and into the forest, and Odd and Aelita surprisingly took a really long time catching up on him.

"Woah Einstein!" Odd panted. "What's the rush? It's just a tower..."

The genius finished talking on his cellphone, then slipped it back in his pocket.

"It's not just one tower, Odd" he said. "Shortly after I opened my laptop, the Superscan picked up another signal!"

"Two towers!" Aelita gasped. "Where?"

"Desert Sector" Jeremy stopped at the man hole. "We'll need all of the back-up we can have, so I called the others"

"What about Ulrich?" the pinkette asked.

"I'll start another search program there" the genius promised. "Now, let's go"

* * *

"Virtualization"

The familiar yellow and orange background greeted the girls, as they rushed to join the other two males.

"Ok guys, the tower 45 degrees east from your position" Jeremy explained. "Be prepared; we don't know what X.A.N.A.'s planning"

The five teens shortly nodded and bolted for the right direction, ready to spring into action.

You can imagine their surprise when they found nothing.

"Jeremy, something's wrong" Aelita looked around her. "There are no monsters here"

"Weird" the genius agreed. "You'd think X.A.N.A. would guard his towers"

"What if it's a trap?" Odd asked.

Layla knelt down to the floor and touched the ground with one of her hands, putting the other one on her temple. she started glowing red...

"That's what I'm wondering right now, Odd" The genius mumbled. "That AI has always something up his sleeve and comes up with even more ideas every day; **(A/N: Wish I could)** I don't think we should risk it"

"Jeremy" The tamer stood up and awoke from her trance. "I examined the area; there seemed to be nothing unusual or any nasty surprises around here"

"I can confirm" Aelita blinked and evoked her Sixth Sense for the third time. "Everything's quiet; how strange..."

"My scans don't pick up anything either" Jeremy looked at his stats and sighed. "I...I guess there really is nothing to worry about..."

"I'll go and deactivate the tower then" The pinkette sped towards the tall, digital and glowing cylinder and entered it without another word; now, all the others had to do was wait.

* * *

Aelita levitated to the upper platform, feeling a weird feeling surrounding her, which was pretty unsettling. She sighed a little as she landed, feeling herself shiver even though she didn't know why.

"Jeremy, I'm checking the Tower stats" she said aloud, as she pressed her hand on the pale screen in front of her. "I don't like this"

"Neither do I" the genius nodded. "Take your time with it; if something happens, I'll notify you. Still, remember there's still another tower left!"

"I'll try to be quick" the pinkette promised, as she slid her hand through the different windows.

* * *

All was quiet outside; well, almost. The four remaining warriors had been standing there for quite a while, and no monster was in sight. Eventually, realizing that maybe yes, X.A.N.A. hadn't sent anything and wasn't going to, they had all scattered around the plateau, each of them trying to do something to kill time:

Odd was lying down, not moving a single muscle, while Layla was near him, meditating. Nearby William was sharpening his sword on a rock. And, in front of them, much further away, Yumi was staring at the horizon, no one knew why.

"She hasn't moved from there since we stepped foot on this platform" Odd remarked to Layla, as he glanced with some difficulty at the ninja.

The tamer opened one of her eyes to look at her female friend and then at the hybrid, then closed it again and nodded: "She's probably worried about you-know-who"

"We all are" The hybrid stretched a little. "I miss my roommate; the whole room is quieter without him"

"The program is going to find him" Layla smiled. "Then we'll free him"

 _Free him...from what?_

* * *

"We will" Jeremy said, nearly surprising the two of them with his voice. "It's searching for a trace as we speak"

He looked at one of the screens while he said so; just at that moment, a window popped up, blaring a red exclamation mark.

"Oh no!" The genius grabbed his hair and fell on his chair in utter despair and horror.

* * *

"What is it?" Aelita's green eyes widened in alarm, then got back to quickly closing the windows.

"X.A.N.A. activated another tower!"

* * *

"He also changed the position of the last one!"

The four Lyoko Warriors outside shot up as soon as they heard, and Yumi went to join the other three.

"What's he doing?" William asked, as the tower behind them shined a bright blue halo and Aelita came out.

"I don't know; I've checked any suspicious activity around the factory and town, but there seems to be none; this isn't like him at all!"

"Nether less" Aelita looked upwards. "We must deactivate the towers before something happens; where's the next one?"

"Ice Sector"

* * *

"But be careful" the genius continued to type as he spoke. "There are dozen of monsters waiting for you there"

"We'll take care of them" Odd answered. "You keep that program rolling"

* * *

"You were saying, Odd?" William glances at the hybrid in front of him.

The two of them are hiding behind an iceberg, while the girls somewhere nearby also hiding. In front of them, specifically behind at least ten Kamikaze Kankrelats, five Krabes, two Tarantulas and six Hornets, was the activated tower.

The five had been ambushed less than a few minutes ago by the guarding monsters, and it was actually a miracle they had managed to hide without taking any hits. But now their objective seemed much further away than before.

"I didn't know Einstein meant that many monsters..." the hybrid protested. "I thought 'dozens' was just an exaggeration..."

"Well, like it or not, we're blocked now" William looked at the welcoming committee from his iceberg and shook his head. "Now what are we going to do?"

"We do what we always do: fight"

"We won't stand a chance against them, genius; not to mention that two of us must not be deivrtualized, and must be protected at all costs"

"Aelita is no damsel in distress, and Layla isn't either"

"We still have to be cautious with them"

"You weren't cautious the first time you came here"

"What does _that_ have to do with it!"

"Be quiet, we might alert the monsters!"

Meanwhile, the girls were a bit further off, hiding behind a bigger iceberg, but instead of quarreling, they were trying to figure out a way to get past the monsters.

"We could attack the Kamikaze and blast a few monsters to smithereens" The tamer suggested.

Aelita shook her head: "What if we miss the shot? That would alert them of our presence..."

"We could just shoot them anyway" Yumi offered. "You know, before they have a chance to notice us"

The pinkette looked at the defense, taking care not to be seen.

"The Kamikazes are positioned far from each other, so we can't start a chain reaction" she whispered. "But at least three or four are near a few of the bigger prey; we can attack these first"

"I'll take care of the Hornets then" Layla took out her whip.

Aelita nodded. "Ok, but stay safe;" she turned around: "Yumi, are you ready?"

The ninja nodded, as she took out her fans and peeked from the top of the iceberg: "Which ones do I need to hit?"

"These two near the three Krabes" The pinkette pointed, as she readied an Energy Field.

"I see them; ready?"

"Yes"

They both counted to three, then threw their weapons to the four Kamikaze; just as predicted, they both exploded on impact, taking one Tarantula and two Krabes with them and severely damaging another one of the latter.

The two boys came out of their hiding place just then, wondering what was going on...and were nearly hit by a laser.

"Come on you two, get your head in the game!" Layla looked at them from below, flapping her wings. "Remember we got a few towers to deactivate!"

The two looked a little confused at first, then nodded and headed off, firing lasers and swinging their swords.

In the end, it ended up being a battle just like any other one. But it felt different, somehow, and sometimes the Lyoko Warriors could feel it through the hits and lasers.

For starters, the Krabes had changed color immediately after the death of their companions, to that orange color that meant Force Fields 24/7, which only made it harder to hit them. William was already severely down on health, and decided to retreat to a safe place, every once in a while re-emerging to fend off any Hornet who was getting near.

Yumi was more distracted than ever, and it was some kind of miracle that she hadn't been hit even once. Everyone was too busy to notice, though, so no one was shaking her from her thoughts. But, at one point, she started giving all of her might, which ended up in some suicide-like decisions, which luckily still got her unharmed.

Aelita was firing Energy Fields like a maniac, and even though Odd was a little more careful with his arrows, he still was no better than the pinkette. They were all nervous, for some reason, as if one wrong move could devirtualize them forever.

Maybe it was like this for real; it felt like it too: if all of them were devirtualized, then they would've needed to wait to return to the virtual world. And each second lost still in the dark about what had happened to their friend meant more time in which they got even more worried and concerned.

After all, like I said before, they didn't know where Ulrch was or what was the AI was doing to him. Judging by William's nightmares about _his_ time with the AI, they each hoped that it wasn't like that. But every second in this battle, their concern for that happening right now grew. It was a terrible feeling that caused them to get even more distracted, and was probably the reason the ninja had finally started trying to hit monsters: it was no use wasting time while the brunette could be in grave danger...

Only Layla, who was was still firing the arrows, was not getting any of these sad and tragic ideas: she was too busy trying not to fall or get hit; unfortunately, her HP was seriously low, because of her getting hit by lasers meant for her companions.

"Layla, rest!" Jeremy exclaimed. "They can do without you for a while!"

The tamer shook her head: "They'll do worse without me! William is already nearly..."

"William can live if he's devirtualized! You can't! Please, it's for your own good..."

Layla paused for a second, contemplating what he had just said. Then, she sighed and flew to a nearby iceberg, hiding behind it.

"Fine" she mumbled, crossing her arms.

"Layla, I know you don't want to be useless" the genius said. "But...the rules are different for you..."

"I know, I know..." The tamer sighed, and looked in front of her, sulking a little.

That's when she saw it: a black figure nearing to a further away tower; actually, _speeding_ towards it.

Her thoughts started meshing together, tangling themselves and trying to figure out what was happening. It was like a computer when it's got too much information to process and just blacks out, only with a human being; it was having more or less the same effect on her, only instead of blackign out, she was just deeply immersed in her thoughts.

 _But...everyone's here;_ was the main thoguht that had started this confusion in her head. _Who's..._

A cry of surprise interrupted her train of thoughts.

* * *

"Guys, something happened!" Jeremy typed furiously on his keyboard. "I...I don't know why, but...there's another activated tower nearby"

Layla immediately snapped out of it at that, but when she looked, the figure was gone.

"Guys..." She said aloud. "I...I think I saw him..."

"Who?" William asked, speeding towards her before he was hit.

The tamer didn't say anything, but stared at him; her eyes said it all. The warrior's own widened.

"No..."

"Yes" she nodded. "I saw him heading over there" she pointed. "But then...I got so confused and...and when I finally snapped out of it, he was gone"

"We'll need to warn the others..." William mumbled.

"Yes, but...break the news gently, ok? We don't know all of the story..."

* * *

Well, when William actually broke the news, you couldn't really define his way to say it "gentle"; in fact, it was pretty much straight to the point.

"Layla saw Ulrich" that was all.

Aelita heard it from the tower she had just finished deactivating (she had finally managed to reach it in the end) and nearly started crying; Odd completely lost it and Yumi fell to her knees, hands clapped around her mouth. In short, they were both surprised and happy to hear from their friend.

Jeremy was instead puzzled: "I thought my program was working correctly..." He rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. "But I got no calls; are we sure it was him?"

"I don't remember there being humanoid monsters except for clones" The tamer shrugged, as she joined her friends. "And the Supercomputer would've picked up Specters; maybe you missed some coding?"

"Well, I didn't add something..." The genius admitted, gravely. "Me and Aelita wanted to add it in the end, but...but it might prove something...something I'm afraid of..."

Everyone stayed silent after that, as the air of cheer and happiness vanished in an instant, leaving a sense of dread and suspense.

"Put it in, Jeremy" Aelita lowered her head and closed her eyes. "We'll get to the next tower."

"Are...are we sure about this?" Odd asked, shakily. "I don't like what the new addiction adds, and we could just search..."

"No"

Everyone turned towards the ninja, who had an unreadable expression and hands tightened into fists: "I don't care what happened to him; first, we'll find him, then we'll get to getting him back later..."

She then lowered her head, and everyone looked at each other, wondering what to do. In the end, they all nodded, and Aelita told Jeremy to add the coding and then initiate the program.

"Well, ok then..." The genius sighed as he started typing. He had hardly opened the requested window, when another one did, and it was glitching all over.

"What the..." The genius fixed his glasses, and looked at it closely, then pulled away. "What's this...I can't believe it..."

"What happened?" William asked.

"The Superscan is glitched; it's as if all of the towers had started activating and deactivating themselves on their own, over and over...argh! It blocked the program!" Jeremy grabbed his hair. "I don't know what to say..."

"The glitch must be because of a tower..." Layla mumbled, thoughtfully. "Maybe that's X.A.N.A.'s plan"

"What plan?" Odd asked, raising an eyebrow. "He just kidnapped Ulrich, activated some towers, damaged our Life Points and now glitched the Superscan. I see no link..."

"He wants to trap us" The tamer insisted.

"But at what goal?"

"Just trust me on this one"

"Then what shall we do"

"Hate to interrupt you two" Jeremy neared the microphone to his mouth. "But I've found a link to the glitch...and maybe also where Ulrich is"

"Fill us in" Yumi smiled ever so slightly.

"You'll have to wait for a second before I do, guys"

"Ok then, I guess we're back to doing nothing on Lyoko" Odd laid down and smirked. "This is beautiful: no school, no monsters, just rest"

The others just stared at him for a while, then spread around, still however not being further than five feet from the resting hybrid,

* * *

Some time passed, before Jeremy finally screamed in joy.

"Yes, I did it!" he exclaimed, raising his fists in the air.

"Ok, now fill us in" Yumi said, as the Lyoko Warriors re-grouped around a whining Odd.

"Well, X.A.N.A. needs to control the glitch from a tower, right?" Jeremy smirked. "So there must be one which effects the glitch; so I waited, and typed, and checked and, in the end...I found the tower we want; it's the one in Sector 5"

"Great!" Aelita raised her thumb. "Good work, Jeremy! Now we need a ride there..."

"I'm telling you it's a trap!" Layla protested. "Ulrich is there, I bet, and X.A.N.A.'s using him and the tower as bait!"

"And we'll get out of it" The ninja placed a hand on the tamer's shoulder. "Layla, I know that what you're saying is true, but we must act in the direct way..."

"But..."

"Layla, she's right" Jeremy sighed. "I don't know anything about what happened to Ulrich, and every second we lose might make it more difficult to bring him back; the more and the quicker we know about him, the better"

The tamer felt herself getting rigid, then slowly relaxed: "Fine; let's go. But don't say I didn't warn you..."

"I'm typing the SCIPIO code right now"

In fact, the Transporter was not late to arrive.

* * *

 _These children are so stupid..._ A shadow smiled in the darkness, as it scrolled past a camera view on the blue screen in front of it. _They have no idea what or who they're up against..._

It closed the screen with a flick of its fading hand and then glanced at a loading bar in another screen on the left. The word SCAN COMPLETE illuminated its cruel and satisfied expression for a few seconds, before beginning another load.

 _Did they forgot what I can do with only one tower now that the Source is mine?_

* * *

Jeremy was typing furiously again, but this time a lot nervously: if he installed the program with errors, it might glitch out and cause even more problems. Not to mention the fact that if the new installed coding worked...he didn't even want to think about the consequences...

A crash caused him to suddenly raise his head in surprise so suddenly it was a miracle he didn't snap his neck.

 _What was that?_

A shiver ran down his spine, and his fingers started to shake. The genius listened carefully for any other sound.

He heard nothing else; maybe he had panicked over something that he had imagined? Yes, maybe it was it.

He went back to working, but he had barely lifted a finger when he heard another sound, this time more violent and evident.

Jeremy knew something was seriously wrong at that point. Shivering worse than before, the genius pressed a key with a shaky index. What he saw only made him even more nervous.

"Guys..." he gulped. "We...We have a problem..."

* * *

"Go ahead and fill us in Einstein" Odd said, now in Sector 5 with the others.

"What is it now? A new tower? Blocked scanners?"

"How about…materialized Creepers?"

Everyone in the Arena gasped simultaneously at that.

"Of course" Aelita mumbled. "X.A.N.A. has the Source, remember? He's more powerful than before, we should've known that he would do something like that"

"Two attacks powered by one tower…" Yumi mumbled. "Maybe even three…"

"What are you implying?" William asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's just…" the ninja lowered her head. "What if X.A.N.A. possessed Ulrich?"

"Don't be ridiculous" Odd shook his head. "Why would he do that?"

"I don't know, but we can't exclude that hypothesis"

"I hardly know what that means, but I disagree anyway"

"And why's that?" the ninja crossed her arms, tilting her head.

"Because X.A.N.A. would've already used him against us! Since he didn't, you're wrong"

"Give her a break, Odd, she was just instating an opinion"

"Since when you've been using large words?"

Layla lowered her head, as images of her nightmare flashed through her mind. Feeling herself insecure and filled with pessimism, she called Jeremy, even though she wasn't sure why.

But the reason it didn't matter anymore, when she noticed the genius wasn't answering.

"Jeremy!" she raised her voice, catching the attention of her friends. Again, no one answered.

"The monsters must've arrived in the Lab" Aelita deduced, her words filled with worry. "We need to hurry up before he gets hurt"

"What about Ulrich?" Yumi asked.

"We'll figure that out later" the pinkette answered. "But I'm sure he's at the activated tower; we need to get there quickly, before anything else happens"

She had barely finished when the ninja bolted towards the open entrance, followed by the other Lyoko Warriors trying to catch up with her.

"Wait up!" Odd protested.

Yumi didn't listen.

They all nodded to each other and headed off to find the activated tower.

* * *

Jeremy was now hiding behind the cushy chair, teeth gritted and his grip tightened on the armrest so hard his knuckles had turned white. He closed his eyes and the lasers nearly brushed him.

"You just have to materialize all of your angry and short-tempered monsters, right X.A.N.A.?" he mumbled to himself, as he heard the Creeper let out a roar.

 _Maybe there's something I can fight with it or fend it off…_ the genius looked around, but found nothing, much to his dismay.

 _Guys hurry up…_ he gulped, as he heard the sound of the elevator moving for the third time so far.

* * *

They had all been running for a while now, not stopping even once to rest (did they even need to rest?), hope, determination, fear and impatience pulping in their veins like blood. The ninja was still ahead of them, obviously excited to see Ulrich again, and maybe even worried to what had happened to him. They had all tried to catch up to her, but she always seemed to out run them.

At one point, Layla ran closer to Odd, images of her nightmare still flashing in her head.

"After this" she whispered in the hybrid's ear. "We'll make sure these two have a talk"" she nodded towards Yumi.

"And we'll organize it?" Odd smiled at the slight mischievous look in the tamer's eyes.

"You bet we do" was her answer.

"I hate to interrupt you two" Aelita briefly turned around to face them, as she stopped running (they did too, or else they would've accidentally run her over). "But we're nearing to the elevator, so be prepared"

They both nodded, and the three proceeded running.

They all soon arrived to the elevator area, and patiently waited for it to arrive. As soon as it came, they jumped on it and waited for it to reach the Tower Area.

They didn't want to admit it, but they were actually excited: this sense of danger, and suspense made this adventure slightly more interesting; it was only a small thought, but it was enough to confirm that they actually liked being warriors now matter what.

It didn't take long for the elevator to stop…but it wasn't in front of their destination.

"X.A.N.A. messed up the labyrinth in here" Layla observed. "The Tower must be further away"

Aelita closed her eyes, evoking her Sixth Sense. She then re-opened them, nodding: "We have to go east; there's an entrance there"

They all ran towards that direction, Yumi once again on the lead. At one point, they came towards an opening in the walls; the ninja immediately stopped running and looked inside it, squinting her eyes.

"The tower's here" she mumbled, clenching her hands into fists. "It's pretty guarded…wait, is that…"

She was cut off by something piercing her shoulder. She screamed when it hit her, and tumbled backwards.

Aelita's eyes narrowed at that, as she launched herself inside the opening, throwing Energy Fields with William tagging along.

Odd, meanwhile, was staring at Yumi, both of their eyes widened in confusion and shock.

Layla tapped Odd's shoulder. "What's wrong?" she asked, clearly more confused than them.

The hybrid turned towards her. "It's just…Yumi was hit by a green beam…" he lowered his head, and sighed. "And…last time I saw a beam like that…X.A.N.A….X.A.N.A. had Ulrich's body under his control"

Layla clapped both hands on her mouth, her nightmare flashing once again in her head.

* * *

Jeremy shivered behind his seat, as another monster announced his presence. How many were they now?

"I have to get out of here" he whispered to himself, as another laser hit the chair. "But how?"

He slightly looked behind him, but the door was locked, with no possible way around it. Maybe he hadn't looked enough and there really wa ssomething he could use?

He looked aorund again, but it was wasted time: there really was nothing to use, not even a scrap of metal.

 _Dangit...  
_

He was seriously tempting to get out of there in the middle of the mosnters like a maniac and use their moment of shock to run to the elevator, risking his life, when he saw the ladder in front of him. Why did they all keep forgetting that thing was there?

"Ok..." he gulped quietly, as he got ready for a sprint. "As soon as they're distracted, I'll go...let's hope I can make it..."

He took a few deep breaths to calm his beating heart, then sped towards the ladder, and nearly jumped on it. Then, he began climbing as fast as his limbs could let him...but suddenly, he felt himself being grabbed...

* * *

 **(We interrupt your read to bring this meaningless interruption by the Author:**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: ...*stops writing suddenly***

 **Aelita: Don't tell me you're taking your twentieth break...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: No, it's just...*starts sweating nervously* I wrote...**

 **Jeremy: *throws hands in the air* Here we go again!**

 **Odd: *facepalms* You should've known better than watching that stuff at eleven PM!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan:...**

 **Layla: Uhhh...mum? Secret? You ok?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *murmurs* Why...why...why...**

 **Ulrich: Perfect! She's in a trance! Now what?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Why her...what did they do to her...what happened...**

 **Odd: They same thing that happened to the others: the system went to (bad word; please stand by)**

 **Layla: Odd, refrain from such language, this is a K+ Fanfic.**

 **Odd: STILL...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Why her...**

 **Layla: *sigh* Take her away; I'm writing in her place.**

 **Yumi: Do you even know what to do?**

 **Layla: Of course, trust me! Now, where were we? Ah, yeah, the limbs were climbing, but...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *screams***

 **Layla: My bad...)**

* * *

"It can't be..." Yumi murmured to herself, as she weakly stood up.

No one said anything, as they stared at the figure in front of them, their friend...was he even their friend anymore? They couldn't say for sure: his eyes, the way they looked at them...it wasn't in the way they were used to. The katanas in his hands were still glowing green, and they were bound to start shooting again if they weren't careful.

And, in fact, he pointed one of the weapons towards Odd, but the hybrid was able to dodge the deadly laser just in time.

"Are you ok?" Aelita asked Yumi, as she helped the ninja on her feet. "I don't really like the way he hit you..."

"I'm fine..." was the answer. "Just..."

"Yes?"

"Nothing"

Layla in the meantime was already fitting an arrow to her bow, her target being one of the monsters guarding the tower.

"I'll try to take our Princess to the tower" she said to the others. "Mind distracting them?"

They all stared at her, weirdly.

She raised an eyebrow: "What?"

"Layla, this is suicide" William protested. "Ulrich can kill you, not to mention all of the monsters he has as backup..."

"X.A.N.A." The ninja gave him a dirty look. "Ulrich would never do this"

"How would you know?" the warrior frowned. "You called him a hot-headed teen with hardly any good or clear ideas"

"You of all people should know that I was angry that day!" was her sharp reply.

"You seemed pretty honest to me!"

"Shut up, William, you don't even know him!"

"Do _you_ even know him?"

"Definitely more than you"

"But do you know him!"

"This is not the time" Aelita tried to separate them, but they ignored her and kept shouting at each other.

Odd sighed and rolled his eyes, then pet the pinkette's shoulder: "Leave them alone, we need to get to the tower: think of Jeremy"

Aelita looked like she wanted to protest, then her mind drifted off to her secret boyfriend, and a small shiver of fear ran through her spine when she imagined a few possible ways in which her love could be in danger right now.

"Ok" she nodded. "Here's the plan: Layla and I'll go in the tower, you distract Ulrich and as much monsters as you can; these two" she pointed at the quarreling Lyoko Warriors. "Can join us when they feel like it"

"But it's too dangerous for Layla" Odd shook his head. "We can't risk it"

"I'll regenerate my Life Points in the tower" Layla smiled. "Maybe I could take a look at Ulrich while I'm at it too"

The hybrid wanted to insist, but the tamer's eyes seems to be pleading for him to let her go. So he sighed and nodded.

"But if you die, I'm not going to be happy" he said, dramatically putting a paw on his chest. "You'll break my heart"

The older teen slightly giggled at that, but it was a very forced one. She had a bad feeling about what he said, and she couldn't tell exactly why...

"Let's go, tamer" Aelita pulled her arm, before flicking her arm over the star bracelet. "We have a tower to deactivate"

* * *

The next few minutes were just a blur to Layla: she could still feel the rush and the fear in her own virtual system, as she fired arrow after arrow with shaking arms towards the monsters. She felt really scared, she couldn't understand why; maybe it was the fact that her nightmare was true, or maybe it was all of that negative feeling...It was something that seem to be emanating from the ex-Lyoko Warrior, and it was a really unpleasant feeling, not to mention distracting.

"Layla is something wrong?" Aelita fired another Energy Field, then briefly looked at her friend.

"I'm fine..." the tamer mumbled, shaking her bow so that it became a whip again: she had had enough of losing arrows.

She briefly looking around: Odd was still fending off some monsters, and Aelita was getting closer to the tower, opening herself a passage. But where was...

There was suddenly a slash, and the tamer screamed, as she fell from above: her wings had been severed, and had disappeared. She soon came in contact with the hard virtual ground, and felt her consciousness starting to abandon her...

"Layla!"

A familiar voice screamed her name, shortly followed by the noise of whirring fans and a groan behind her; then, she felt a hand grabbing her arm and...nothing more.

The Status rang in her head as her mind seemed to black out like a computer after running out of battery:

Aelita: 60

Layla: 10

Odd: 50

William: 17

Yumi: 45

 _Everything is going according to plan..._

 _Scanning data..._

 _Remembering facts..._

 _Glitch identified..._

 _Program..._

What was happening?

* * *

"Let me go!" Jeremy kicked the Creeper in the face, then used that moment of distraction to free himself and continue climbing. He eventually made it up, then immediately bolted to the nearest exit.

"I hope none of them knows how to use ladders..." he panted, as he grabbed the doorknob and flung it open. Then, he quickly closed it, and started searching for anything he could use to block the door.

The only thing he could find which was light enough and usable to block the door was a thin pipe.

"Still better than nothing" he said to himself, as he fit the thing near the knob form downwards to block it; he wasn't much sure it would work, but it was still worth a try.

Afterwards, he sprinted once again to the main entrance, searching for someplace to hide; unfortunately for him, there was only one place that came into mind...and it involved climbing...

"Ok" he sighed, grabbing the rope. "Remember Jeremy, this is for your life..."

He then nervously jumped on it and started climbing up, murmuring silent prayers.

* * *

 _Everything was black for a few seconds. Then, there was a faint green light, and Layla felt her head getting heavier, as she saw different lights filling her head.  
_

Wait... _Her voice echoed._ Am I...conscious?

 _Somehow, she knew that no, she wasn't; not totally, at least. Her mind was speeding and working at an abnormal speed, but her body...her body felt numb.  
_

 _More lights filled her head, as for some reason she started looking around, everything moving as if this was all one giant monitor and a game, and she was pressing buttons to pan. It was starting to freak her out._

Is this really my mind? _she whispered quietly._

 **"It's her, isn't it?"**

 _Layla immediately seemed to freeze when she heard that voice. It was strangely familiar, but she really couldn't put her finger on it._

 **"What you feel for her...that's what breaks you, right?"**

 ** _"Shut_ ** up!"

 _That last voice...it was distorted, as if someone was trying to free themselves from some kind of control. Or at least, that was the most likely hypothesis._

I wonder where it's coming from... _the tamer looked around her head, but couldn't seem to find the source. She still could hear the voices clearly, though, so it shouldn't be far...  
_

 **"It's her then."** _the familiar voice continued._ **"I should've known."**

 _ **"Why**_? It' ** _s beca_** use you' ** _re a dir_** ty AI and **_you can't f_** eel? **_It's that wh_** y you didn't kno _ **w?**_ "

 _There was a pause after that. She couldn't tell if the discussion was over, or the video or whatever that seemed to be playing in her head had stopped or frozen...or maybe it was just a short pause._

 **"Don't be stupid"**

 _No, it was still on. The other one must've hesitated._

 **"I _can_ feel, you worthless human; I just choose not to"**

 _ **"You're ly**_ ing" _She then heard a weird noise, which slightly resembled rattling metal._ "You can' ** _t feel! You'_** re a bunch of **_Binary Co_** de stuck together!"

 **"I can, you idiot; but when emotions make you only feel pain, you tend to want to forget they ever were there...apart from the ones you need"**

What does he mean? _Layla wondered, as she searched._ Why is he saying that?

 **"But...whether I can feel or not emotions is besides the point, stupid"**

 _ **"What do**_ _**y**_ ou mean?"

 **"Simple; programs like me, they can indeed learn to feel, to fear...to love"**

 _Layla mentally noticed the hesitation on his words, which had shocked her: was there something much more important than usual that the Lyoko Warriors didn't know about X.A.N.A.? (She was now fairly certain that one of the people speaking was said AI) Then again...there were still many things they didn't know about him before too. Actually, will they ever know all of his secrets before his ultimate destruction? How many were still to uncover?_

 _And...wait, what was that thing that she had noted again?_

 **"But..."** _she realized that the AI was just now continuing his speech, and hadn't continued before. Was she actually controlling the recording, or whatever the sound was?_

 **"Simple programs...programs like the ones I inject in the Scyphozoa...those are just what I said: simple programs, 100% digital. No matter what I do, I can't make them immune to emotions. Sure, they're stronger than normal, but...they're still vulnerable. Like for you, for instance"  
**

Non-immune to emotions, huh? _She thought._ So, that means...maybe there's a chance to save Ulrich after all?

* * *

"Layla!" WIlliam shook her arm again. "Please don't be dead..."

He had barely finished his phrase when the tamer woke up with a jolt, panting. She then immediately started looking around, eyes wide and concentrated, as if she was searching for someone.

"Layla? Is everything ok?" the warrior asked.

She turned around to face him, and opened her mouth to answer. The immediately closed it when a familiar blob of pink came racing towards them, screaming the dark-haired teen's name.

"William!" Aelita panted as she stopped directly in front of them. She then noticed the tamer beside him: "Oh, you're alive!"

"Not for long"the tamer sighed. "HP is at 10"

"Perfect!" the pinkette grabbed her virtual pink hair. "As if we didn't have enough problems already"

"You found data about Ulrich?" William asked, curiously.

"I did" Aelita nodded. Then quickly explained for Layla: "I deactivated the tower, then went back in to see if I could find any information about Ulrich, since Jeremy is still unreachable"

"And?" the warrior insisted.

The pinkette shook her head: "X.A.N.A. implanted something in his brain, like he did to you...and to me sometimes as well; without Jeremy, we can't do much"

"We could deactivate the towers" The warrior offered.

"Impossible" Aelita looked down. "Do you know the reason they were activating so fast? It's because X.A.N.A. sent him to do that with the right codes"

"We can guard the towers"

"There are at least forty one towers and only five of us; not to mention we're all running out of Life Points. X.A.N.A. must've really placed us in some kind of trap"

"But why?" William raised an eyebrow. "Does he want Layla that bad to corrupt one of us?"

"I don't know for sure what he's planning now" the pinkette said. "But if we all get devirtualized then yes, Layla might finish in his clutches and maybe even get possessed like Ulrich; but don't forget that one tower is still activated, since there are also real-life monsters crawling in the factory: they might, you know..."

"End us and maybe many other people..."

Layla had stayed silent during this discussion, but had listened to every single word they had said. Her head was spinning, filling itself with all of this new information and trying to remember the new one she had just got.

"Guys..." she mumbled. "Maybe...maybe I know a way to get him back...or at least, grasp him until we find a way to delete whatever is in his brain"

The two other Lyoko Warriors stared at her, and she could sense that they were dying of curiosity. So she took a deep breath and started to explain:

"I think that...that some programs X.A.N.A. uses, like possessions with the Scyphozoa are vulnerable to emotions; as in..."

"...we have to find a way to make him feel" Aelita scratched her chin, thoughtfully. "This is actually kinda true: after all, Ulrich is human, no matter what X.A.N.A. uses to corrupt him or possess him. He can still feel, we just need to find someway to force emtions out"

"I know it won't break the effect, or at least not all of it, but..." Layla stood up. "It might distract X.A.N.A. enough to let us deactivate the rest of the towers"

"Maybe it could work" William shrugged. "But I think I'll stay here, just in case he goes crazy again"

"The others must be finished with the other monsters" Aelita commented. "Layla, you should go into the the tower and regenerate; maybe you can also find something useful in them"

"I'll try" The tamer nodded. Then she suddenly froze: "Wait a minute: who is supposed to force emotions out of Ulrich?"

The other two Lyoko Warriors opened their mouths to answer, then stopped. They looked at each other for a few minutes, before William facepalmed and sighed: "You're probably going to laugh at me..."

"Why?" the tow girls asked.

"I have an idea, but..." the warrior looked down. "It's kinda...cliché?"

The two girls looked at each other, then their eyes widened when they understood.

"Oh..." Aelita gasped. "Oh..."

"Still better than punching him" The warrior shrugged.

Layla nodded: "Cliché or not, it's the best plan we have right now; let's get her"

* * *

 **(A/N:**

 **Layla: Things are starting to get green and black...**

 **William: is that good?**

 **Layla: Dunno; Secret's still KO, though...so, until then, I'll do my best)**

* * *

The tamer was now starting to wonder if all of this was a dream, or just some bad movie. somehow, a part of her brain didn't seem to agree on the logic this was going towards to. But it was still the best idea they had.

"What am I supposed to do again?"

"Say something, basically, with emotion"

"You sound like Mr. Chardin..."

"It's not only that" Layla turned towards the two girls. "Yumi, we're trying to help Ulrich here"

The ninja raised an eyebrow: "So, what am I suppose to say again?"

The tamer thought about it for a while, then immediately lightened up, as an idea dawned on her.

"The fight!" she exclaimed.

"The fight?" Aelita looked at them. "What fight? The one Yumi and Ulrich had?"

"What does the fight have to do with it?" Yumi asked.

"Well, he was pretty hurt because of...you know" Layla said, waving her arms around in circular motions. "Listen, I know it'll be hard but...can you at least try?"

"But why me?" The ninja asked. "Why not someone else?"

"Because..." Layla looked at Aelita, her eyes asking her for any ideas, but the pinkette shooked her head. "Because I told you to and because you're the only person that is available right now" The tamer blurted out in the end, half-hearing her own words. "And don't worry, me and William are staying for backup"

"Are you sure it's going to work?" Aelita asked.

Layla didn't answer at that. Because she actually couldn't: she wasn't sure whether it was a good or bad idea, her mind was torn into two about that; but, at this point, it's not like they had another more reasonable option.

"Aelita, you just go with Odd and find the activated towers" the tamer put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll go in the tower now; don't worry, we'll be fine"

The pinkette looked uncertain for a few seconds, but nodded anyway; she then ran off to join Odd, who was waiting for her.

"Ok" The tamer turned towards her friend. "You ready?"

"Not really..." Yumi sighed. "It's just...anything could happen at this point..."

"If it doesn't work, we can just try to devirtualize him..." Layla mumbled. "Uh...unless something goes wrong..."

"What?"

"Nevermind" the tamer shook her head. "So, Ulrich's over there; ready?"

The ninja hesitated for a second, as many doubts plagued her mind; she wasn't sure why, but she had a feelings that this was not going to be your average conversation. And she hoped it wasn't going to last long, because she honestly didn't know where to start.

"Yes" she lied, tightening her hands into fists: she might be scared and doubtful, but she was determined to get Ulrich back, or at least try.

* * *

Layla looked from behind the wall, shivering.

"It's suicide" she mumbled to William, crouching down. "Ulrich is in front of the tower, and he looks like a freaking hawk"

"Yumi is waiting over there, calm down" the warrior patted her shoulder. "Just wait, ok?"

The tamer huffed, and looked at her objective again.

"Maybe" she traced a path with her finger. "If I go over there, and then jump that gap, I could reach the tower".

"How"

"Like this" she repeated her gesture, pointing towards a spot in the distance, then connecting it through an invisible line to the tower again; afterwards, she patiently awaited for the answer.

William, who had followed step by step her plan, shook his head: "Too dangerous"

"What about if I teleport?"

"What?" he looked at her, with wide eyes. "You can teleport?"

"Well..." she smiled a little, cheekily. "It's nothing, really, just something Jeremy told me about my status: I figured I'll just use it in cases of emergencies; like this one"

"But...aren't you not supposed to use your powers in your condition?" the warrior asked, obviously concerned.

Layla shook her head: "I'm sure I can reach the tower before I run out; it doesn't take much HP to use it"

"I'm not risking it!" he insisted. "We're going there the manual way"

"We won't be able to" the tamer shook her head again. "Ulrich is really strong: once wrong move and I'm gone for good ,you know that"

"Yes, but..."

The dark-haired teen interrupted himself mid-sentence when Layla fell to her knees, and started glowing red.

"Layla, what are you..."

He stopped again when his teammate started singing a sweet, sad song; he tried to reach out to stop her, but he had barely touched her shoulder when his fingers were shocked, probably taking some life points along with it. And it seriously hurt, not unlike the other time he had been hit by lasers. It also left a really evident burnt mark.

"Ow! Layla..."

She didn't answer. Instead, she slowly started to fade, as the spot where she was filled itself with what looked likepuffy fog. In seconds, her physical pixelated form was replaced with pale red smoke.

 _Who_ is _this girl?_ the warrior wondered, surprise, shock, maybe also horror and suspicion painted on his face.

The smoke laid there for a few seconds, moving upwards and downwards for a while, as if it was confused. Then, it stood upwards and decisively dived into the ground, not even stopping one more second to say goodbye.

William stared at the spot Layla had been less than twenty seconds ago, still confused. Then, less than half a second later, he heard a cry of surprise, and felt a pain spread all over his body from his chest.

"Ulrich, STOP!"

It was the last thing he heard, before reality hit him and he tumbled out of the scanner and into another battlefield.

* * *

Layla felt her body collapse on the hard tower platform milliseconds before her LP could lower to 0. It had been a risky operation, but it was the only way she could get there as fast as possible.

Now all she had to do was wait for the waters to calm down and her LP to reach 100 again. Or at least, for Jeremy to come back and materialize her her back home.

Her whole body tensed for a few seconds, and she felt many memories she thought she never had resurface; but they were glitched and corrupted, and also sometimes seemed unfamiliar, even thought she had a feeling she knew them. It was the only thing she could hear or see now, as the whole outside world shut down around her.

It was like slipping into a coma, even though she was probably more conscious in her head: her brain was working at an abnormal rate, and she could still sense, even if faintly, what was happening outside: she could feel William fall to his knees, before being devirtualized; she could feel Aelita's tiptoes touch the ground, before rising in the air. There were also Odd's paws, speeding all over the ground, the ground being scratched by monsters...

And there were also Yumi's steps.

She always made one, then hesitated, and took another step forward; there wasn't a precise time break, but she knew she was trying to reach out to her so-called "friend". And Ulrich was barely hesitating.

Had they made the right choice?

Layla's brain focused on these steps, waiting for the huge pang on the ground, which meant that one of them had been devirtualized.

Several minutes passed.

Nothing happened.

She felt Ulrich fighting inside himself, probably trying to break free; she sensed the pulsations of faraway towers slowly fading into nothingness. She also felt a voice calling her, over and over; she tried to open her mouth to answer, but she was still numb.

Time slowed down, as the tamer slowly started losing grip on her mind; was she dying? Had it all been in vain? Was this goodbye? Scared, she tried to concentrate, but relaxing felt so inviting...

Maybe for just a few minutes...

She could wait...

So Layla stopped concentrating, she stopped struggling. She just let the darkness overcome her.

* * *

The tamer didn't know how long it had been, before she felt some strength return her; she wasn't sure why, but she also felt the tower had gotten a lot lighter and...was that a motor revving?

Her eyes snapped open, just in time before she tumbled out of the scanner, Odd reaching out for her.

"Are you ok?" he asked, gently.

"What?" Layla tried to stand up, but she ended up toppling back to the ground and fell on her knees, looking up to her friends, puzzled. "Wh-what happened?"

"Aelita and Odd deactivated the right tower just in time" Jeremy walked in front of her and smiled. "William was ambushed post-devirtualization, but he didn't get hurt, luckily"

"We couldn't find you" Odd continued, as he helped her stand up "We thought you had...you know, but Jeremy located you in the Sector 5 tower; the teleporting thing you did nearly killed you for good, and it wasn't good for you. He waited until you had reached 100 again, before materializing you back"

"And..." The tamer held her head with her hand, as she looked around. "What about..."

She stopped in mid-sentence, her eyes visibly widening when she saw a familiar face.

"Ulrich!" she exclaimed, running towards him, but stumbling several times in the process, like a small and excited deer learning to walk. "It worked!"

"Actually" Aelita interrupted her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "By the time Jeremy came back to the Lab with William, Yumi reported that he was very unstable; he immediately started working on a way to free him from X.A.N.A.'s control for good" she smiled shyly at the Einstein. "We ran double checks and it worked"

"This is great!" the tamer beamed. "So now we're all together again!"

"And we've got a lot of work to do" The genius rubbed his neck. "We need to dismantle the alibis; Ulrich, mind if you stay with me and Aelita for a bit more?"

"Uh, ok" the brunette shrugged. "But make it quick; I want to go back into the open again"

"Yeah, he's right" Odd nodded. "Also, he mustn't be late: he has plans afterwards"

"What?" his roommate looked at him. "What plans?"

"Some plans" William looked at him with a serious and knowing look. "Really important ones too"

"I..." Ulrich shook his head. "I don't understand"

"I'll tell you later" The hybrid beamed cheekily. "Just...don't be late, ok?"

* * *

"You have to talk to him" Layla insisted.

"But why?" Asked Yumi.

Layla rolled her eyes. "Just go!" She said, pushing her towards the forest.

* * *

Meanwhile, a similar situation was happening on the other side of the forest: Odd had pulled Ulrich all the way there.

"What are you doing?" The brunette complained.

"I'm taking you to 'your' tree" Odd answered. "And if you hit me with one of your Karate moves, your diary goes straight to the school newspaper!"

"It's not...oh, whatever; but this is blackmail!"

"Ulrich, just walk and stop being a baby!"

The brunette sighed, and followed him unwillingly, nearly losing an arm because of how hard Odd pulled it.

* * *

"But why?"

Layla paused her pushing and sighed in frustration.

"Because you two have to talk: this has to stop!"

"What has to stop?" The ninja asked.

The tamer scoffed and pushed her forward.

* * *

"I can walk on my own!" Ulrich snapped.

"Yeah, but back to Kadic!" Odd said, pulling him forward.

"Ah, les gars! Salut!"

Layla had finally reached them, pushing Yumi forward like a truck without wheels. Odd, on the other hand, like I mentioned before, was tugging his friend's arm, trying to make him move. He waved when he saw them.

"Hi!"

Layla walked in front of the ninja and waved back.

"Ok" she said, turning towards Yumi "Now, go and talk to him!"

"But WHY?"

"Odd, why did you even took me here?" Ulrich asked the hybrid.

The tamer and her 'friend' rolled their eyes and walked behind the one they had brought there.

"What are you...?"

They two matchmakers pushed them forward. Surprisingly, it was pretty easy: Yumi and Ulrich were too worried about where they were going to end up if they kept pushing.

With that thought in mind, they both blushed.

Finally, when they were at least at five centimeters from each other, the pushing stopped.

"Now, you two have to talk; and don't you dare run away!" Odd warned, and he walked away. Layla ran towards the other direction.

Finally alone now, the whole forest dropped silent. An air of awkwardness settled in.

Ulrich shifted his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground, while Yumi had her arms behind her back: they both knew what they had to talk about.

"So..." Ulrich started.

Yumi smirked. "You didn't even thanked me for freeing you from X.A.N.A.'s clutches"

Ulrich stared in her dark eyes. "Ok: thanks" he said, a little louder than he planned.

The ninja frowned. "What?"

"It's just that..."

"You enjoyed being the bad guy?"

Ulrich's eyes widened. "Of course not!"

Yumi sighed and looked behind her, as if to ensure there was no one spying. Then she faced Ulrich again and took a deep breath.

"Listen, I know you're mad for...well, for what I said about you and all, and like I said before I'm...I apologize"

Ulrich lowered his head. "And I'm...I'm sorry, for...for overreacting"

The ninja put her hand on his shoulder. "Apology accepted".

Ulrich raised his head and looked in her eyes: "Same here".

Yumi removed her hand and blushed slightly.

"And...thanks for the petal; Layla gave it to me, saying you planned to give it to me to apologize"

The samurai blushed and smiled. "Yeah, um...you're...you're welcome" he murmured.

They both stared at unspecified spots in the forest: none of them knew what more there was to say.

"Can I ask you a question?" The ninja broke the silence.

Ulrich looked at her again and slowly nodded.

"Why did you do all this things? You know, before the attack..."

The brunette turned his head away, and didn't answer.

Yumi frowned. "Ulrich?"

He stared at the ground again and shifted his hands even further in his pockets, if it was possible that is.

"I can't tell you" he mumbled.

She crossed her arms. "Why?"

"I just can't, ok?"

It was weird, Yumi thought, how he seemed keen on not answering that question; did it really mean something so embarrassing? It's not like she wouldn't mind, she wouldn't break their friendship for some stupid things he had done and the reason, but...was it so hard to tell? She didn't want to force him, but...deep down, she was worried ti might have been a problem with their relationship, and said fact worried her.

"Was it something about your dad?"

"No"

"Sissi? "

"Uh uh"

"Then what was it? Tell me!"

Ulrich didn't say anything.

Yumi rolled her eyes. "You know, you might be a good guy, but you're really secretive; always tugged in your own stupid world..." You could tell she had had enough of his behaviour.

"I can't tell you, seriously!" The samurai protested.

Yumi crossed her arms. "Are you saying you don't trust me?"

"Yumi, I do; it's just, I don't..." he stopped, suddenly.

She looked in his eyes. "So?"

He just stayed there, not uttering another word.

Yumi un-crossed her arms.

"I knew it" she murmured, starting to walk away.

That was when Ulrich felt himself filled with a weird sensation: it was as if there was a crowd, yelling him to go, tell her, or do anything which might make her forgive him...he felt as if he was filled with adrenaline, and he knew exactly what he had to do without even knowing it.

There was no other excuse for what was going to happen in the following minutes. None at all.

The first sign he had that this seemed to be some kind of cruel joke by whatever God was up there or that it was already written was when he ran towards her and grabbed her arm.

"Yumi, wait!" He exclaimed.

She turned and Ulrich nearly lost his concentration when he saw two small tears trickling down her cheeks.

 _Is it possible that..._

"What do you want?" She snapped.

The samurai was shocked when he heard the pain in her voice.

"I changed my mind; I'll tell you" he told her quickly.

She turned around entirely to face him. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Well?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"I...uh...I just..." darn his tied tongue!

He scratched the back of his neck nervously and mumbled a few 'uh's, trying to find a way to tell her...

Yumi understood his situation and took one of his hands, squeezing it.

"Come on, you can tell me; I won't judge you, I promise"

Ulrich gulped. "Promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to get shot by kankrelats"

They both giggled. When it was over, Ulrich let go of her hand and took a deep breath.

"I...uh, well, I..."

"You...?"

"I..." he took another deep breath...

"I wanted to get your attention"

It wasn't a valuable excuse, he knew it; it was probably stupid too, but honestly, he didn't know why he did what he did. it has been instinct. But that seemed even stupider.

Surprisingly, Yumi didn't caught his bluff; she just sighed. "I told you already, you don't need to behave like an idiot to get my attention..."

"No, this is different!" He interrupted her, even though he wasn't sure why.

Yumi sighed again. "What's different about it?"

Ulrich took a deep breath again. "Well, you see, I..."

He hesitated for a few seconds: what should he do next? What should he say? Was there any excuse at all for his behaviour?

 _Maybe..._ a little voice giggled in his head. _There is a reason..._

Ulrich felt himself filled with adrenaline again. An unfamiliar strength was guiding his movements and thoughts from there...

"So?" Yumi asked, after a few minutes of silence.

This was the last word she said, before Ulrich grabbed her wrist; Yumi gasped, but it was cut short when, very suddenly, his lips met hers.

Surprise. That was the only explanation of what she was feeling right now. Of all the moments that had passed through her mind about when and how this moment would happen, none of them were like this; but, suddenly, she didn't care: she was experiencing her first kiss. And with Ulrich too!

That's why, soon, she started kissing back.

A few seconds passed, before Yumi suddenly got up to her senses and stopped, and Ulrich did the same milliseconds after. It surprised both of them, but only partly.

"No..." the ninja whispered to herself. "No..."

"I'm sorry" the samurai mumbled, looking at the ground.

"No, it's not you, I..." Yumi sighed and looked away. "I'm sorry but...no, it..."

"I'm sorry..."

"Stop it! We just...I don't want to risk it, that's all"

She looked down, and nervously bit one of her nails, feeling somewhat stupid. She hadn't started it, of course, but...but she hadn't stopped either; at least, not willingly: it had just felt too...nice?

"I...I need to go now..." Ulrich mumbled, awkwardly, taking a few steps backwards, before turning around. "We...we'll talk about it later..."

"I'm sorry..." the older teen waved a little uncertainly as he walked off, but she felt really scared for some reason. She had never expected anything like this; she thought it was a closed discussion, just friends, but...but it seemed it really never was closed.

"Darn it!" she yelled aloud to no one in particular. And then, in a lower voice, she added: "I messed up"

Not far away from where the ninja was, a wave or orange hair was a little crouched and peeking from a nearby tree, an unreadable expression on her face. She had seemed to be hiding there from the start of the conversation, but no one could've really told why or what did she thought of it with certainty.

"Just like I expected" Layla mumbled. "This was either the dumbest thing ever, or the most genius move yet" she dropped the hand the was on the tree trunk, and straightened herself up, before heading back to school. "At least, they won't be fighting for a long time"

* * *

 **Layla: There, done! You happy?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Thanks for the change in ending! The other one was too OOC!**

 **Aelita: Oh! Are they going to get together?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Did they get together after Routine?**

 **Aelita: Eh...no?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Is the fandom salty about said episode?**

 **Aelita: Eh...I guess?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Then no. Not for another 14 chapters or more.**

 **Aelita: Darn it!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Sorry for the wait, readers! Like I said, I promise to work on chapters every weekend, but the date for the new one is still uncertain.**

 **William: We're going to have special guests in it!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: You big spoilsport! Anyway, about the whole scene in Sector 5? Well, there was supposed to be something about that originally, but...I didn't know what to write, tbh, so I thought "Meh, let's be cruel" and didn't put it. Not to mention the fact this chapter is give or take 14000 words long, (my longest one up until know, imagine!) and I thought that it was long enough...**

 **Layla: But who knows, dear readers, maybe we'll see a snippet of it in the future? *audible wink***

 **Odd: Also, Secret, are you ok?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: A lot better than before, yes.**

 **Odd: Then what is this I hear that you've been reading stuff?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: WHAT! That's a lie!**

 **Odd: *waves an IPad around* not according to your AO3 and Wattpad history...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I skipped these parts, ok!**

 **William: What are they about?**

 **SecretcodeLyokan: Other fandoms...I'd rather not talk about it...**

 **Layla: I thought you were in a half-gore and total angst phase...**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I am.**

 **Jeremy: She is?**

 **Layla: Yeah, I read her works; my, she's so cruel to them.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: ANYWAY, hope you enjoyed this chapter! You know what to do and STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT! (now you seven wave or I'll feed you to a Memoryhead)**

 **Layla: FANDOM MENTION!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Shut up.**

 **Lyoko Warriors: 'Till next time!**


	17. Ep 16: Meet The Carthago

**Hey Guys! Sorry for the wait, but hey, here's the update!**

 **It might not be my best, and I'm sorry…I just wanted to update quickly, because after this, there's a two-episode-no-ideas gap, and…well, I just wanted to be nice to you guys. We're halfway already, and I'm so happy people care about this story, so I thank you. I hope I won't disappoint you with this chapter; I think the ending might be a little pushed, but it'll make sense in the future, believe me.**

 **So…enjoy dearies!**

 **PS: THIS CHAPTER WAS REMOVED BECAUSE THE STUPID SPACING WASN'T ON AND MY IPAD REFUSED TO UPDATE THE DRAFT AND I WAS SO ASHAMED I TOOK IT DOWN BUT NOW IT'S OK!**

* * *

 _ **Review Answers:**_

 _ **Naruto Sakura Uzumaki: Thanks for the suggestion! I'm still hesitant about the sequel, since (spoiler alert!) Layla's past will be all discovered in this fanfic one very far away day, but we'll see…**_

 _ **I Heart Lyoko: Thank you dear! I know that was really long, more or less 14000 words, to be exact. Maybe I'll make more chapters like that…not on purpose, probably.**_

* * *

 **Yumi: Work hard, ok?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yeah yeah, whatever…*looks at the Episode List, frowning***

 **Odd: Something wrong?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *still frowning***

 **Layla: *sighs and rolls her eyes* How many this time?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Huh?**

 **Layla: Plot-less episodes…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Two. Then there's Episode 19, in which…you know.**

 **Odd: Oh gosh, not that episode…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Relax, it's not going to come in a while. Though I'll start writing it while I think about the other two plot-less episodes before it…**

 **Ulrich: So, what was this about again?**

 **Layla: Me-focused…again.**

 **William: Mary Sue.**

 **Layla: Hey! Aelita always was on the center of attention before this came!**

 **Aelita: Excuse me!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Guys this is really not the time…**

 **Layla: Admit it!**

 **Aelita: At least I actually exist!**

 **Layla: What!**

 **Aelita: Yeah, I'm not some…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I SWEAR TO X.A.N.A. IF YOU SAY ONE MORE WORD I'LL WRITE A CREEPYPASTA ABOUT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU GOING INSANE OR DYING BY THE HANDS OF SOME WEIRD GHOST KIDS!**

 ***insert a silent moment***

 **Odd: I thought you said your horror phase was over…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I said I was** _ **taking a break.**_ **But, apparently, that isn't working…**

 **Yumi: Still afraid of the dark?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I always am. Just more this time. The memories playing in my head while I'm in there don't help at all; it's as if my subconscious was haunted *shivers***

 **William: Anyway, we should be going now…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Yeah, we should. Places everyone!**

* * *

 **Code Lyoko: Case Of Delenda**

 ***theme***

 **Episode 16: Meet The Carthago**

"Layla, on your left!"

The tamer raised her head in alarm at that cry, and immediately slashed her whip in the direction she was told to without a moment's hesitation. The Hornet was brutally cut in half, and then exploded, its virtual pixels falling all over the green territory, vibrating for a few seconds on contact before disappearing completely.

"Thanks" she mumbled, nodding towards the pinkette beside her.

"You're welcome" Aelita shrugged a little, smiling. "It's what friends are for, looking at each other's backs for a pesky Hor-"

"Aelita, get in the tower, quickly!" Jeremy basically screamed into his earpiece, as a cry of pain echoed in his ears. "The others aren't doing very good"

"I'll be there in a second" she nodded, then ran off to the not-far tower, its red halo shimmering in contrast to the Forest Sector background.

As she went, Layla stopped for a few seconds to look at her brown and green clothes: despite the fact she had been on Lyoko what seemed now like a thousand times, she still wasn't used to them changing color per Sector, and Jeremy still couldn't explain why they had that feature. Of course, it might only be a characteristic of her Avatar, but with all of the crazy stuff happening lately…

"Layla, look out!" Someone yelled behind her.

Without thinking, the tamer wished for an arrow and, tossed it the monster behind her, moving away just in time to dodge the laser and the explosion that came with it. She had never done that before, she realized, and she didn't even know why she tried that.

"Woah!" Odd, who had watched the whole thing unfold, was really impressed: "I thought you couldn't summon your arrows without your bow"

"Hmm" she looked at her hands. "Maybe I didn't do that…"

"You didn't" Jeremy looked at her status. "You used your Ability for that; and I think you shouldn't try it again"

"Why not?"

"Your Life Points are already down to 80, that's why" was the genius's answer. "Layla, you've got to be more careful"

"80 is fine, Jeremy, it's just twenty Life Points gone, no big deal" she reassured.

"Don't you get it? Layla, you're in danger in here!" The genius grabbed his hair, desperately. "I'd understand if you weren't that vulnerable, but what does it cost you to be careful?"

"Do I look like a careless child to you?" the tamer bitterly answered. "I _know_ I have to be careful, and I _am_ ; it's not my fault if-"

"Layla, this is serious!" Jeremy snapped. "If you haven't noticed, you have a life here, and you need to start remembering that…" he sighed. "I don't want to go this far, but I think…I think you should take a break from Lyoko"

"What!"

* * *

"…Layla already risked her life multiple times on Lyoko; I'd rather she stayed away from missions for a while, or at least stay on Earth, until it's safe enough for her to come"

Jeremy, Aelita and Layla were all in the Lab, while the other had headed back to their dorms or, in Yumi's case, to her house. The reason the three were still there was because the genius had insisted he had a chat with the tamer; the pinkette had decided to stay there to be present for it.

"'Safe enough'?" the latter repeated. "Lyoko will never be 'safer' than it already is, you know that"

"Are you implying that I'm not allowed to step foot on it ever again?" Layla crossed her arms with a frown. "Gee Ai, thanks"

"I didn't say that" Aelita said. "I just meant that what Jeremy said doesn't make any sense"

"Safe or not, this is about her life" Jeremy insisted. "She's a human being, she has a life! What are we going to tell her parents if something happens to her, huh?"

"I'll be careful!" the tamer protested. "I always am!"

"Then explain to me why you've been risking your life these last missions!"

"The arrow was an accident, I wasn't thinking!"

"I mean the other times: teleportation, your destructive power…this has to stop, Layla, your life's at stake"

"Jeremy calm down…" Aelita caressed his arm, as if he were about to explode

"Life, huh?" one of Layla's eyes glimmered at that statement, and she didn't say anything else for a while, as if her mind was processing that thought alone.

"Life…" she repeated. "Life…"

"Yes, your life" the genius snapped back. "Think about your family when you're in Lyoko, will you? Maybe next time you won't be so careless!"

"Don't drag my family into this!" she hissed at him. "You don't even know them!"

"I might not know your family" Jeremy frowned. "But by what you're acting like you don't care, I bet you don't know them either"

 _Crash!_

These words slashed in the tamer's brain like Ulrich's katana would; her eyes widened, and she fell to the ground, holding her hands together, whimpering.

Aelita gasped silently, and cried out loud her friend's name, before diving to help her out. Jeremy just stared at her, still frowning; then, as he noticed the tamer's troubled expression, his features softened, and worry and concern for her replaced his anger.

"Layla…" he mumbled, tending a hand towards her. "I'm…"

"Get away from way!" she spat, pushing his offering hand away, and walking towards the elevator, dusting her clothes. She muttered something under her breath, before pressing the button, the glare she was giving the genius cutting through the metal barrier that was slowly descending in front of them.

Jeremy stared back at her, until he couldn't see her anymore, then turned towards his computer, hands in his hair.

"That came out wrong!" he exclaimed. "I didn't mean to say that out loud, I'm sorry…"

"Layla's parents have hardly been paying attention to her at all since her friends passed" Aelita glanced at the closed door of the elevator and then at the floor, sadly. "They hardly noticed her troubles in her previous schools"

"Dang it!" the genius punched his seat. "How could I forget about that? Why didn't I keep my mouth shut?" he sat on it, then buried his face in his hands. "I just was tired, and mad…and nnow she's mad at me. Perfect, the last thing we need is one of us in a bad mood…"

The pinkette looked at him, and sighed heavily. She walked towards him and wrapped her arms around him, trying to offer the genius some comfort.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow" Aelita smiled sadly. "I'll see what I can do"

"No, _I_ have to apologize" Jeremy mumbled. "I'll talk to her, try to fix this mess" he looked at his secret girlfriend. "I just wanted her to be safe…"

"I know Jeremy" she kissed his forehead, gently. "I know"

* * *

Layla was in the elevator, staring at the walls. Her frown slowly morphed into a sad expression, as her mind surfed back to her parents; her past had always been a touchy subject with her: dead friends, family that didn't acknowledge her existence, school problems…it had been a hard life for her, and she had just come to this school to forget about it, to cherish that only moment her mum and dad had actually decided to do something better for her sake…

The elevator stopped, and she exited it, clenching her fists tightly. She had barely taken ten steps when she roared and hit a pole near her with one of her fists, her knuckles sparking electricity, which circled the hit metal piece all over before disappearing in a puff of smoke; tears streamed down her face, as she slowly sank to the ground, covering her face and sobbing.

When the two geniuses headed out, they found her sleeping peacefully in a corner, her sleeves burnt.

* * *

The next morning, the tamer didn't feel like attending her lessons at all; she had a feeling something bad was going to happen soon, and she didn't like it. Hadn't it been for her good-student instinct, she would've called in sick.

"Come on, don't be so unhappy" Yumi tilted her head at her. "Jeremy didn't mean to say that"

"I know he didn't!" she snapped. "He just should've used better words!"

"So, you're not mad at him?"

"Being mad at him for just that would be illogical and stupid" was her answer. "He made a mistake; but it still hurts, so I'm not going to forgive him easily"

The ninja nodded a little uncertainly at that, then went off to find a seat. The tamer followed her, hands shoved in her jacket pocket; all of the boys stared at her for a second, and she was considering to bark at them for that, but then scratched up that idea: it would've only increased attention and then late rmake her feel bad. So she just sat down and let her hands breathe for a few seconds as she fished her school items from her bag.

First Period: Italian.

Said teacher walked in at that moment, smiling at everyone as he laid down his bag.

"I brought the tests back" he said, as he fished a few papers. "And I'm happy to inform you everyone passed it, even if some of you with mediocre notes"

Everyone cheered at that, and William even raised his fists in the air, yelling "Score!".

"Ok, now calm down, or I won't tell you who got what" The Italian teacher warned.

The class obeyed, even though some students were still a little jitterish. So the man walked by the desks, handing out the papers and making little comments as he went:

"Remember that there are different types of plurals…Dunbar, you have to work on your writing, but otherwise, good job…you nearly failed this, be careful…Leduc, please be careful with you punctuation…" And so on it went, until he arrived to the first desk in the front row, where a grumpy orange-haired was doodling curvy spirals on the edge of the notebook out of boredom and frustration.

"Ahem" Layla heard someone clear his throat on top of her, and she broke out of her trance to quickly regain her composure, afraid she might've been distracted or worse…

She turned towards the teacher, just as a piece of paper landed gently on her desk.

"And as always, _signori e signore,_ the first prize goes to Miss Carthago!"

The tamer looked at the piece of paper, confused, then gasped suddenly when she realized she had gotten ten out of ten. It wasn't the first time, but she had been certain she had made a mistake at the last minute.

Guess she had been wrong.

"I told you" Yumi nudged her. "It was alright; see?" she pointed at one of the phrases. "No red markers"

Layla was about to answer, when there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me for my interruption, professor" Principle Delmas announced his presence, and started scanning the room. "But I need to borrow Carthago for a few seconds"

"Carthago?" The teacher nodded, then looked at the mentioned student. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Eh…no sir" The tamer shook her head, as she stood from her seat and walked towards the door, as whispers started filling in the room and her two friends watched her go with very concerned and worried expressions.

* * *

The trip to the office was a quiet one: not one of them uttered a word throughout the whole trip. Which was kinda disappointing, since it would've been actually a lot less stressful if the Principal would actually tell her about the reason she was currently going there. If he was trying the "surprise" method, he was really bad with it, since instead of making her excited, it only made the tamer more worried.

In fact, while Layla seemed pretty cool on the outside, she was starting to freak out on the inside: what was wrong? Why was she going to the office? Had she done something wrong?

No, it couldn't be; unless…had someone caught her doing something suspicious? Like when she used her electric powers? Or when she hit Ulrich with a laser arrow? If that was the case, she was doomed, and maybe all of her friends with her.

 _Oh my gosh._ She said to herself. _This isn't good; if someone_ did _see me, God knows what could happen to me! I might be experimented on, or I might be abandoned, or taken to the Government, or, even worse, they might found out about Lyoko and Aelita and X.A.N.A. and we'll be all in serious trouble and, possibly, get extinct as a whole race…_

She stopped at that point, and instead concentrated on where she was going before she zoned out too much and got lost. Her heart was racing, and she was starting to sweat and biting her lip; she prayed the Principal couldn't see her: there was still a bit of hope that he had just made a mistake, and she didn't want to look suspicious, or like a culprit.

After what felt like half an hour but was probably give or take just two minutes, they finally reached their destination, and her heart still loudly thumped against her chest, as he opened the door, entered, and then left it open for her. It was like being the protagonist of one of these detective or horror movies, where whatever was or was bound to happen behind that door was going to be a shocking discovery or a jump scare. Well, maybe not a jump scare, but maybe a shocking discovery…

She had barely peeked at the door, when she literally froze, her throat clogging every single word that she might've wanted or needed to utter right then: two figures were already in the room, and they had turned around to greet her. One of them was an orange-short-haired woman with brown eyes wearing a green gown, while the other one was a man in a business suit with blonde hair and green eyes.

Her eyes were nearly bulging out of her head, and when she finally found the strength to speak, she was stuttering like mad; it sounded really awkward, but hey, who could blame her:

"M-Mum? D-D-Dad?"

"Layla" Mrs. Carthago tilted her head and smiled at her. "What a pleasant surprise to see you here; you seem much older than when we last saw you…"

"What?" the tamer's eyes widened even more (if they could) "You were the ones who sent me here, there's nothing surprising about seeing me at Kadic! And, anyway…" she pointed at them. "I should say the same about you! I thought you were supposed to be in England!"

"Well, if you think about it, we were close by and decided to pay you a visit" Marcus said. "It's been a long time"

"You think?" Layla crossed her arms. "We haven't spoken in months!"

"Which is what we want to change" her mother smiled sadly at her.

The Principal nodded: "We have discussed about it, and I decided that family is more important than school sometimes: you're taking the day off to spend it with your parents"

 _What!_ Part of her wanted to scream that. But the other part reminded her that that reaction would've looked stupid, and would've started a very awkward moment, especially in a situation like this, in front of her own parents (who, she recalled, had somehow finally decided to acknowledge her existence) _._ Not to mention the fact that Principal Delmas was in the same room, and seemed to judge her every action.

So she just slightly frowned and huffed a little. Her parents didn't seem to care, which she guessed was better than them yelling at her like they used to do.

* * *

"So, what do you want to do today, sweetie?" Her mother asked her, as they made their way towards the shops.

"I want you to explain to me what is going on" she muttered.

"We just want to spend a little time with you, catch up, there's nothing wrong with that" Mr. Carthago looked around. "Maybe we should buy you some new clothes…"

"I think what I have is fine"

"Dear, come on, just a little look…" her mother nudged her with a smile. "It feels like it's been years since we last bought clothes together"

 _Two years and ten months, to be exact, Mum. And you hardly looked at me during that period._

"Ugh, fine" the teen mumbled, as they made their way towards a nearby clothes shop. "But do not try and buy anything against my will"

"Why would we do that?" the man asked.

"You did that last time; twice" was her bitter answer, as she stared at the floor, wondering how could her parents not lose their patience already over her. They had grown sickly sweeter in the last years, and she hated that, especially considering how they were before.

"And we're really sorry for that;" Mr. Carthago insisted. "Now, come on, let's go and find you some t-shirts"

The three entered the shop, and immediately spread in several different directions: the two adults went off to find something for Layla's father, while she looked around the area which seemed to have clothes for her age group.

"Knew it that they'd leave me here" she muttered to herself, as she studied some t-shirts. "At least, they're still in the shop; and this time, I can take care of myself"

She sighed heavily, as she massaged one of her arms with a spark of hurt in her eyes: since the accident, her parents lost many contacts and friends, as plenty of those were related to her friends and everyone secretly suspected the accident had been caused by the two or something like that; luckily, there hadn't been any evidence to tie up this suspicion, but for some indescribable reason she still didn't understand, it took a few months to prove it. And during these months, her parents always argued with each other and, like she had already mentioned, even yelled at her sometimes. When it was all over, the two started ignoring Layla, and travelling all over the world, like Odd's parents. However, while the hybrid didn't seem too bothered by that with his own mum and dad, it was one of her pet peeves and, as mentioned before, a really touchy subject: it felt as if her family had completely abandoned her at the age of seven and a half, and if they thought that she would forgive them easily for that, boy, they were wrong. Even the rare times they visited didn't make up to it: they just acted like they were in front of a stranger.

"At least Odd's parents remember he exists" muttered the tamer. "At least _they_ know they have six children; at least they visit whenever they can, and remember who they are" she punched the shirt rack in frustration, blinking some tears away.

"At least…"

Layla's voice lowered to a hiss, and avoided the few stares she was receiving, trying to distract herself with a particular black shirt.

"At least his parents don't consider for one second _the possibility of one of their kids being responsible for the murder of their own best friends"_

* * *

Third period was over at Kadic. Yumi and William were with the others, discussing about Layla, who, as you might all know, had left school without a single word.

"…and she hasn't returned" The ninja concluded. "I hope nothing happened to her"

"Maybe the Principal was a trap" Odd jumped from the bench. "Maybe she's in trouble"

Jeremy, who had been typing until then, working on a new program, looked from his computer and shook his head: "The Superscan doesn't pick up any active towers"

"We can't be too sure; remember the last time you said that…"

Just then, Aelita's phone rang; her face lit up when she saw who was calling: "Guys, it's Layla!"

"Really?" The hybrid too, lit up. "Well, wait are you waiting for? Answer!"

"Calm down, give me a second…" the pinkette pressed the button, then neared the phone to her ear. "Hello? Layla, where are you? We were so worried; imagine, Odd thought you had been kidnapped…"

* * *

"Oh, I wish I was kidnapped" The tamer answered, as she looked behind her with a frown, before looking back at the book in her hand. "I'm with my parents!"

"What?"

"Yeah, crazy right? They showed up here, claiming they wanted to catch up" she looked back at them, where they were talking about a pair of encyclopedias. "Delmas gave me the day off to be with them; they're acting really weird …"

"They just want to spend time with you and try to apologize for their long absences" Aelita reassured her. "You should give them a chance"

"I don't think you know what am I dealing with" Layla hissed. "They _abandoned_ me for nearly eight years, Aelita; and, even if I consider the idea of giving them a chance, I would be nuts: I told you, they're acting really weird" The tamer looked back at her parents again. "They're all smiley and understanding and stuff; I know they've been like this for a while, but there's something different this time, I swear…"

"Layla, stop being so suspicious, it's really nothing" the pinkette chuckled. "Just give them a chance, you said it yourself: you haven't seen them in a while, maybe they changed more…"

The tamer huffed in reply. "Well, I _could_ try, but no promises…Oh, they're coming, talk to you later; bye!"

"See you later" Aelita hanged up, then slipped the phone back in her pocket.

"So?" Odd asked, impatiently.

The pinkette shrugged: "Her parents came into town; she's spending the day with them…"

"Her parents?" William repeated. "I thought they were in England…"

"Not anymore, apparently" Jeremy mumbled, as he continued typing.

"How did she seem?" Ulrich asked.

"She was really bitter about it" Aelita answered, with a frown. "She said they were really nice with her, and it wasn't settling for her"

"They ignored her for most of her life, and are suddenly paying her attention right now for no reason" Yumi mumbled. "Knowing her, her reaction is pretty self-explanatory; not to mention she was already in a bad mood today…"

"Still" Aelita sighed. "She should be happy they are noticing her for once…"

"Maybe there's more about it" Ulrich shrugged. "She never really mentions anything about them, just the necessary to give you the idea that she's not an orphan…"

"Then we should look into it!" Odd exclaimed. "Maybe we can understand her better and help her!"

"For what?" The pinkette asked; but the hybrid was too busy begging Jeremy to "work his magic" to hear her.

* * *

"…So what do you think about this for school, sweetie?" Mrs. Carthago proudly showed a black and white notebook to her daughter. "It's on sale"

"It's, ok, I guess" Layla looked at the book with a judging look, nodding a little: she was trying really hard to sound nice: who knows, maybe Aelita was right. The only problem was that there was still something unsettling about this whole thing; not to mention the memories that kept floating back.

"Then we're buying it" the woman announced. "Come on, pick another few things, and then we'll be on our way"

"Mmhmm"

The tamer hid behind a bookshelf rack and started searching for something; it was really hard to act natural, as if nothing about this situation bothered her; it's just that this whole thing was weird since, like she had mentioned many times in her head and aloud, it had been, what, years since her parents were this available and were listening to her?

"But what does Aelita even know about my parents" she huffed. "She never met them, and she hasn't had a childhood like mine; at least her parents were torn apart from her by fate and force, not because they decided it…"

She looked up to search for them, just to be sure they hadn't forgotten she was here and left her in the shop; no, they were still there, looking at the large books.

 _They sure seem determined to win my trust again_ she thought. _But they should've thought of it sooner…_

"Hey watch it!" Her dad exclaimed, as a middle-aged man accidentally bumped him as he passed by.

"You could move over, you know" the man protested.

"And you could pay attention to where you're going" Marcus insisted, looking pretty angry.

"Marcus, please…" his wife tried to calm him down.

"At least I know my boundaries!"

"Are you saying you bumped on me on purpose!"

 _Well, this is new…_ Layla observed. _Last time he screamed like this in front of everyone, as far as I know, was when I got distracted and they left me in the middle of a shopping mall …_

The tamer visibly shivered at that memory, and half-covered her ears, to shake that memory away. She watched as the two men continued arguing with each other for a few minutes, before the other one decided to leave them alone for good. She sighed and uncovered her ears, but suddenly froze when her eyes fixed themselves on a particular detail on her dad.

Precisely…in his eyes.

The tamer quickly looked away, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she looked at her mother, who was mouthing something to him. And her eyes…she swore she saw the same thing…

 _Oh no…it can't be…_ The tamer rubbed her eyes, then looked at them again; somehow, the symbol had disappeared, as if it had never been there. Had it really been her imagination? Was she getting paranoid now?

The tamer didn't feel like answering that question; so she quickly dived back to retrieve a book and pondered there for a few more minutes, before deciding she was being ridiculous. That couldn't happen, right?

Her phone suddenly start vibrating right at that moment. She suddenly felt a bad feeling creeping inside her, as she reached to answer it…

"Sweetie, have you finished?" Mrs. Carthago looked at her with a smile, nearly scaring the living daylights out of her. "We wanted to head off somewhere else now…"

"Uh, sure…" the tamer nodded, as she stood up and handed over the two books she had intended to buy. "I…I wanted to buy these"

"Nice" her mother took them. "Come on, let's go and meet your father"

Her phone was still vibrating in her pocket, but before she could answer it, the woman took her hand and dragged her near the cashier's desk.

* * *

"She's not answering" Jeremy mumbled, as he looked at his cellphone.

"I thought you wanted her to take a break" Aelita said, crossing her arms.

"I did, but I wanted her to come over just in case X.A.N.A. sent a Specter, but…weird, she usually answers"

Odd looked away from the beeping laptop which he had been told to hold a few minutes ago, trying to correctly grasp everything he had just read about the girl he admired; he understood now why she was so cold and secretive about them, and he could've never guessed it went this far…

The school bell suddenly rang, making the six teens nearly jump in surprise and the hybrid actually was one step closer to dropping the PC. They had forgotten that there still was one hour before lunch break.

"We need to go now" Jeremy took his possession from his friend's hands and slipped it in its bag, before he jumped off from the bench; then, the six Lyoko Warriors started heading off for the forest when…

"What do you think you're doing?" Jim yelled at them. The six froze immediately, and quickly turned around to see the PE teacher glaring at them and pointing behind him. "Classes are the other way"

"It's very urgent, sir" the genius stuttered, starting to panic. "We need to, uh…"

"We volunteered to clean to forest" Aelita interrupted him. "There's, uh, lots of litter, and…we decided to do something about it…right guys?"

The others slowly nodded and muttered something in agreement, but they were soon interrupted.

"And you think I believe that?" Jim in fact yelled. "If you really want me to get out of your hair, you six could've pulled off something better than volunteering; now, get back to class, or I'll send you all off to the Principal's office!"

The Lyoko Warriors all groaned simultaneously at that, and decided to obey before they got in trouble.

"As soon as we can, we'll get out" Jeremy whispered to his friends.

"Yeah, as if that's even possible" Odd looked back at the teacher with a half- frown. "He's probably going to hang out here and making sure we don't get out"

"There are still no serious attacks, Jeremy" William reassured the genius. "Maybe X.A.N.A. can still be in control for another hour or so, right?"

"Well…" the genius wasn't too sure, but he didn't say it out loud. So he just nodded a little uncertainly, as he and the others went to Math Class.

* * *

Layla was straying behind from her parents; she really hoped that what she had seen had just been an illusion, or an impression: the last thing she wanted to deal with was an attack.

Wait…where were they even going? She didn't remember this road.

"Mum? Dad?" she called to the two grown-ups in front of her. "What…where are we going?"

Her parents didn't answer. The tamer gulped loudly, as a bad feeling crept inside her. So she repeated her question, much loudly this time.

"Just follows us, dear" was the answer.

She looked at them, hesitating for a second; then, she decided to continue walking, ignoring every single voice telling her to pull back.

"Can I ask you something?" the words blurted out of her mouth before she could stop them. Mr. and Mrs. Carthago didn't seem to notice, only continued walking. She took that as a yes.

"Why…" she hesitated for a second, and blinked a few tears away, before finishing her phrase:

"Why did you accuse me of murdering my own friends?"

The two stopped. Her heart skipped a few beats, as a strange feeling of fear she hadn't felt in a long time started resurfacing, and her body turned numb. She wanted to run, but her feet couldn't move. She wanted to scream, but –she realized- no one was around for what looked like miles, or at least, definitely not in her screaming range. This only made her feel more uneasy.

Her fingers tickled for a bit, as bright yellow sparks started to form: it didn't matter who they were, she _was_ going to hurt them if they tried hurting her.

Suddenly, her eyes widened, and the sparks got really intense. The tamer screeched and shot a bolt at her father's leg, but she screamed when she missed.

"Stay away!" she yelled, throwing another spark. But it was too late: the tamer had barely readied another bolt, when she felt electricity hit he rand shock her whole body. It was the first time it had happened, and it was a terrible feeling.

Her vision got blurry, and then…there was darkness.

* * *

"We have to hurry up!" Jeremy panted, as Ulrich, Odd and Aelita ran to catch up to him. He was really worried: they had to wait half an hour before it was safe enough to go out unnoticed, and he had a bad feeling something terrible had happened.

Aelita, who had her phone glued to her ear, frowned: "Layla isn't answering…"

"She's probably trying to act polite to her parents" Odd mumbled, with a small hint of sarcasm.

The pinkette noticed this fact and turned towards him, raising an eyebrow: "Well, what do you think she should do?"

"Are you saying it's normal she's not answering?" the hybrid spat.

"No, but what you said makes sense…"

"They ignored her for most of her life! She basically grew up without them!" he exclaimed. "And I'll let you know, they _accused her of murdering her own friends_!"

"You can discuss that later" Ulrich who had been talking on the phone up to that moment, hanged up. "We have other things to worry about" The brunette then turned to Jeremy: "I called Yumi; her and William are on their way"

"Good" the genius stopped as soon as he saw the manhole. "We don't know yet what X.A.N.A. has planned"

"We could've used Layla's computer" Odd suggested.

"Impossible: Jim was guarding the dormitories"

The four Lyoko Warriors were now inside the factory. One by one, they swung down using the ropes that were there, but the moment they reached the elevator, they realized something was wrong.

"Why isn't it here?" Jeremy asked.

"It's a trap…" Ulrich mumbled, looking down. "X.A.N.A. must've sent a Specter or possessed someone…"

"But what are they doing here?" Odd wondered aloud.

"Damaging the Supercomputer, probably" The genius too, looked down. Then, he shook his head: "No, it's not deep enough…"

"Then…"

Aelita paused, and silently gasped, as the answer dawned on everyone. The all looked at each other, eyes wide open in fear, and then bolted to the other entrance.

Odd was the first to arrive in the lab. He was also the first to scream, as electricity hit him.

"Odd!" Aelita screamed, as she jumped down. In a moment of brave heroism, she took the fainted boy and hurriedly climbed down, as the two adults in front of them kept firing bolt of electricity at her.

"Jeremy, get to the consoles, quick" Ulrich jumped down soon after, and frowned at the two X.A.N.A.-possessed figures. "I'll distract them"

The genius uncertainly nodded, as he quickly grabbed the ear piece and started typing.

"Aelita" he called. "Get in the scanner, quick!"

"Nearly there!" the pinkette quickly answered, as she laid Odd on the floor in one of the tubes. She briefly smirked at him, and then ran towards the closest scanner. "Ok Jeremy, you can start the virtualization"

"Roger that," The genius nodded, as he typed the familiar code, while behind him, chaos ensured.

"Transfer Aelita"

"Transfer Odd"

"Scanner Aelita"

"Scanner Odd"

"Virtualization!"

Just as he pressed the last key, he heard a loud groan, as the brunette was tossed aside near him.

"Ehm, Ulrich?" he looked at his friend, then heard a cackle behind him, and turned around. Color drained from his face when he saw the two figures grinning evilly at him.

"Aelita, please hurry up…"

* * *

The pink angel fell on the ground with a small thump, just as the Lyoko Warrior Cat started waking up.

"Oh man" he mumbled, feeling his forehead. "My head…what happened? Where are we?"

"We're on Lyoko" Aelita chuckled. "These two people back there shocked you hard; it's a miracle you were still alive"

"Shock…" The hybrid murmured daily. "Where…Layla!" He immediately shot up at that. "Layla!" he repeated.

"Odd, calm down" The pinkette put a hand on his shoulder. "She's probably at the factory"

"No, I heard her!" he insisted, shaking her away. "Her parents…they virtualized her…she's…" his eyes widened as he looked at her.

"She's in X.A.N.A.'s lair"

* * *

The young teen could barely lift her head, let alone open her eyes. Once again, she was in that same coma state she had been a few days ago, and her mind was working ata tremendous speed, linked to Odd via telepathy and trying to grasp at every single detail the room she was in had.

 _It's all blue…or white._ Her voice echoed inside her mind. _And…And I don't know where the exit is; the room is empty, but…he's watching me. Odd, Aelita…_ She squinted her eyes. _Let me out…_

She didn't know how she had established the telepathic link; but every time she tried, she could feel something pulse inside her, and it hurt. Was it draining her life points?

 _Perfect._ She "mumbled". _Just what I needed: another excuse to not participate in missions._

The tamer sighed a little (well, she didn0t physically), as she tried to sense how close she was to her friends; or at least, try to teleport her way out. But the more she tried, the more the pulsing got worse and painful; after less than five seconds, she just gave up and decided to stick to telepathic communication.

 _You could ask…you could ask X.A.N.A. to…let me out._

* * *

"What?"

Aelita looked at her friend, as they ran towards the tower. "Are you crazy?" he exclaimed.

"What is she saying?" the pinkette asked.

"She says that we could talk X.A.N.A. in letting her out" was his answer. "Don't you remember the last time we went to Lyoko Reign?"

"We don't really have better plans, though" Aelita told him. "Maybe we could agree on something"

"Why does he even want her?" The hybrid frowned. "I swear, if he's going to…"

"He would never" the pinkette shook her head. "Whatever he needs her for, I'm sure X.A.N.A. needs her to stay healthy; so, maybe…" She slyly smirked at Odd, as a plan formed in her head. "Maybe, if I can press the right buttons, we might have a chance"

* * *

Yumi and William had just reached the elevator, and were having a little bit of trouble: they had pressed the button three times so far, but the elevator didn't seem to work.

"Maybe Jeremy blocked it" Yumi mumbled, then turned towards the warrior, who was on the phone.

"No one's answering…" he muttered, concerned. "I don't like this"

"We'll need to be cautious them" the ninja nodded. "Let's take the other route"

They ran towards the wide-open door not far away, their hearts beating really fast; the two had barely went in when they heard a scream.

"Jeremy!" Yumi quietly gasped, as she ran towards the end of the room, William tugging along beside her. They reached the ladder and she eagerly climbed on it, peaking at what was going on; what she saw were two Lyoko Warriors down on the ground, fainted.

"Ulrich! Jeremy!" she called, but received no answer. She was just about to jump in, but William blocked her.

"We have to be careful" he said to her. "It might be a trap"

"They need our help" Yumi shook her head. "Whoever did this already left to search for us"

"Yumi, use your head!" the warrior snapped. "X.A.N.A. is not stupid: he knew we'd be here"

"I don't care! His minions can fight me all they want, I'm helping them" she shook her hands off and jumped down, then hurriedly ran towards the two to check their heartbeats.

"Guys, are you alright?" she shook Jeremy for a little while, then laid him back against the chair, still worried.

"This isn't funny you know!" She yelled at them.

Suddenly, she saw a shadow falling on top of her, and looked up. She eventually managed to get out of the way, before the man crashed on top of her. And, less then a second later, a familiar black figure was on top of him.

"William!" She exclaimed.

The warrior turned to answer her, but was he wanted to say was drowned by a cry of pain, as a woman shocked him.

"No!" Yumi screamed, and ran over to punched her adversary…her fist phased through.

"What?" she looked at her hand, and then at the enemy, the too familiar symbol blinking in her eyes as she playfully smirked at her.

"It's too late" her distorted voice said. "She's ours now"

* * *

The next thing the ninja knew, many volts of electricity were being spread all in her body, making her cry out in pain.

The tower was deserted; they weren't any monsters to guard it, and it seemed far too easy. Aelita was very hesitant as she ran towards the tower. She was praying she wasn't too late, and that X.A.N.A. would listen to her. It was really essential for the plan…and for her friend's safety.

Odd had been sitting near a rock, getting ready for any surprise attacks, even though he knew there wouldn't be any: if the AI cared about having Layla that much, he really must've finished his job, and so had no need to protect the tower controlling the Specters, or the possessed parents. X.A.N.A. must've had a deadlier plan ahead to kill them.

 _Hey tamer,_ he said in his head. _We're getting you out, no matter what._

All he heard was a soft chuckle. _And how do you think we can do that?_

 _Aelita is going to talk to X.A.N.A., like you said._ The hybrid reassured. _Maybe she…_

 _X.A.N.A. isn't stupid, Odd._ Layla mumbled. _He seems to really want me. I don't know what he's planning, but…_ She lowered her voice ever so slightly. _I doubt he'll let me go that easily._

 _But you said…_

 _I was wrong._ The tamer sighed. _I forgot he's different from us. He can hardly feel, Odd, remember? It won't be easy._

A few meters away, behind a closed portal, a shadow was looking at its prisoner, eyebrows furrowed. It gave a quick look to another screen, a camera, where his servants were patiently looking at it, as if waiting for orders; however, they suddenly started to shake violently and wince in pain. The shadow sighed sighed when the figures turned into black somke and disappeared, uncovering four unconscious teenagers behind them: a fraction of his mortal enemies.

It seemed to shrug at that. _I won anyway._

Looking back at the prisoner, X.A.N.A. (because it was him) narrowed his eyes when he was the bright green tubes attached to all of her body once again started to pulse, pumping the necessary energy she was losing over and over again.

" **She's still trying to communicate with him"** he observed. **"What is it with these humans and all this emotion they have?"**

Emotions had always been a touchy subject with the AI since the… for nearly ten/eleven years. He had never understood why Humans treasured them so much, why everyone thought they were something beautiful.

 _They're just like defects in coding._ He thought bitterly. _Useless, a weakness, a worthless thing…but also something powerful…_ He turned to look at another screen ,where a few status bars and coding were typed down, along with windows with logs. _Powerful against my power, that is. Something without antidote…_

He heard a small blip, as a screen floated towards him. It was small compared to the others ,and INCOMING was written on it in capital white letters.

" **The Angel"** He deduced. **"Just as I expected"**

He hesitated for a few seconds, wondering if he should respond to the attempts at establishing contact; thanks to the Source, he had now more power over the Supercomputer and could do many various things, like disrupting call signals and such. However, he did not play with his new powers. He instead used the ones he needed, and only when necessary.

 _A fast kill isn't amusing enough, especially when I still have a weakness._

Sighing, the AI scrolled the screen to the left; said item was immediately replaced by another small replica, but it was completely light blue and crossed by darker-blue static. He waited for a few seconds, to make sure the contact was established, and then he waited for her to answer.

"X.A.N.A." Aelita called. "Are you there?"

" **Always"** the AI smirked. **"What can I do for you?"**

* * *

Aelita slightly gulped, trying to give herself courage, and the she said in a very serious and calm voice: "We want back Layla; hand her over and there will be no consequences"

There was laughter on the other side, and the pinkette was starting to doubt if her plan of negotiation was going to work.

" **And what do you think will make me hand her over?"** The AI asked. **"You have nothing against me; and don't dare trying any sneaky moves on her, because you're going to pay for it"**

Aelita was taken aback at what he said; she never thought X.A.N.A. would be so determined to keep Layla alive. What was so special about her? Was her destructive power? Or the fact she could match his soldiers' abilities? Or maybe he wanted to use her as some kind of ransom for a more detailed plan the pinkette couldn't ever come up with?

Whatever the reason was, she suddenly had a burst of inspiration; maybe she could use this weakness to get her out. Of course, it wasn't going to be easy (he _was_ an artificial digital intelligence hell-bent on destroying them and humanity, after all) but it was worth a try…

"You really care for her, don't you?" she asked, trying not to smirk: the fact that her enemy really had actual feelings was pretty amusing, especially considering said enemy hated them and wasn't supposed to have them.

X.A.N.A. immediately realized that he had just made a mistake; he couldn't believe how stupid he had been!

" **I don't"** he answered, trying to sound impassive. **"She is merely necessary to me"**

"X.A.N.A., she has a family; the people you imitate care for her" The pinkette protested. "Whatever you want to do with her…they might never see her again; have a little bit of mercy"

The AI couldn't believe his virtual unstable ears: was the Angel really that desperate to have her teammate and friend back? Had he been a normal human, he would've died of laughter at what she had said.

But he wasn't a Human; so he chuckled instead.

" **Oh, Angel"** he sighed. **"Where have you been all this time? You seriously think that your stupid mediocre plans might work?"**

"What?"

" **You know it better than me, Angel"** the AI glanced at his prisoner. **"This poor girl was mistreated; her friends died, and what did her family do to her? In case you forgot, they ignored her total existence"**

"But…"

" **Their daughter was the least of their problems; they were always absent when she needed them the most, and she was raised all alone between those sitters of yours and such"**

"Wait…"

" **And I think you don't know, but"** X.A.N.A. frowned. **"This girl here was accused by her own parents of killing the people she loved! I'm doing her a favor, taking her under my wing; she'll be more accepted this way"**

Layla had heard every word of that conversation; anger boiled inside her, and she so badly wanted to move, but she was still in that coma-like state.

 _Maybe…_ she thought. _I can…I can…open a link…_

She squinted her eyes shut and concentrated, as the conversation progressed.

"Her family might despise her" Aelita nodded. "But she has us"

" **You puny little humans?"** The AI shook his head. **"How ridiculous; you, Angel are a good…what was the word? Ah, right, comedian"**

The pinkette huffed a little, as her mind started to panic: her possibilities we restarting to narrow, she didn't really have any other options now that were better than this…

Unless…

There was only one option. It was stupid, risky, probably the worst idea ever, but…but it was the only different idea she had from the other ones. And it was worth a small try.

"What about Delenda?" she then blurted out, her mind racing as she tried to invent something just in case the conversation progressed in either the right or wrong way.

But luck was one her side, because the AI literally froze at these words; he felt some kind of emotion, one of the weakest ones, creeping inside him, and he didn't like it. He tried to eliminate to by using anger, but it was all in vain.

" **What about her?"** he mumbled, keeping his cool.

"We…we know where she is" the pinkette slightly stammered. "And…and we'll kill her; eliminate her from existence. Never to be seen again"

The AI hesitated for a few seconds, trying to reformulate the words he had just heard; his eyes seemed to be blaring flames, and whatever positive emotion he had inside him seemed to melt away like rain.

" **You wouldn't dare!"** He exclaimed, his shadow/humanized form becoming a little unstable, and he had to take a few deep breaths to keep it together…both mentally and "physically":

"We can and we will" Aelita nodded. "Just…just give us Layla back and we won't harm her"

 _This is nearly too easy. But I can't give up now._

" **Leave her alone!"** he roared. **"I'll give you your friend back, but if you dare hurt her…there will be consequences!"**

"Ok, ok, calm down" Aelita tried really hard not to smile. "We won't harm her"

" **But…where is she?"** He asked. **"Where did you find her?"**

"Not so fast" The pinkette shook her head. "Give us Layla back, and maybe I'll tell you"

" **Tell me NOW!"** X.A.N.A. exclaimed, as the walls and screen around him shook. **"TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!"  
**

"The deal is we won't hurt her if you give us Layla" Aelita insisted. "If you really want to know, you'll have to give us something else back"

" **You filthy little Human!"** He said. **"I will kill you one day, just you wait!"**

"I'm free anytime" Aelita shrugged. _Am I really doing this? Did I just outsmarted him?_

" **You can have her back"** X.A.N.A. mumbled. **"I can find her on my own;"**

Layla felt so relieved when she heard what happened: she was finally free! And the AI didn't suspect a thing!

 _I wonder what's so special about Delenda_ She thought. _He must really care for her…_

She could feel whatever was connected to her body come lose, and the familiar tingling sensation overcoming her; she could hear a muffled cry, but she couldn't really understand what they were saying. Shivers went down her spine as she felt lighter, free, her senses returning…Until suddenly there were blurring lights, the sound of a motor revving, and she toppled once again out of the scanner, as three pair of arms caught her just in time.

"I'm ok guys" she opened her eyes with a smirk. "Don't worry, I'm ok"

* * *

They were now back at Kadic, where Layla had just returned from the Principal's office.

"So?" Aelita asked, impatiently. "How did it go?"

"Fell for it" she smirked. "I told him they had left in a hurry, and I sort of got lost, but I managed in the end"

"What about us?" Ulrich looked away, worried. "Did Jim catch us or…"

"I don't think so" the teen shrugged. "I guess you're all ok until stated otherwise; and, by the way" she smiled warmly. "Thanks for everything; you're my real family"

"Awww, how adorable" Yumi hugged her. "Look guys, Layla loves us"

"You deserve some love" William nodded. "These folks of yours…how could they do that?"

"I…" she looked away. "I'd rather not talk about it"

"But do you have at least some good memories about them?" Ulrich asked. "You know, before…what happened…"

Layla looked upwards, deep in thought. Her expression visibly shifted a few times, and then suddenly her eyes widened ever so slightly, before shrinking back to normal.

"No…" She mumbled. "Not at all"

"I'm…"

"No, I mean, not any at all" the tamer looked at the brunette. "Maybe I was really small, but…I don't remember anything before the accident about them"

* * *

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Looking on the bright side, this is slightly longer than the other chapters. And hey, you got to know more about my OC!**

 **Layla: So…what do we do about the two plot-less episodes?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: *shrugs* Probably another trip to Lyoko Reign, or…**

 **Jeremy: Your writing-action skills are going down.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: IT'S NOT EASY OK! Don't start lecturing me like my mum!**

 **Yumi: You will probably finish this next year…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: I'd watch my mouth if I were you, Missy, or the next episode might have you in great danger.**

 **William: You wouldn't dare!**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Did I bat an eye while writing "Lost And Found"?**

 **William: Uhm…**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: What about "X.A.N.A.'s fever"?**

 **William: …**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Exactly.**

 **Ulrich: Don't be that scared William. She can't even kill characters.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Oh really?**

 **Ulrich: …What?**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Sweetie, how about you ask Phyne and Nyde about that?**

 **Odd: You monster.**

 **SecretCOdeLyokan: *puts on sunglasses* Deal. With. It.**

 **Aelita: You killed your favorite character a few months ago out of curiosity though.**

 **SecretCodeLyokan: Because I was bored and in a sick masochist mode, could you please not bring that up!**

 **Layla: Anyway guys…see you when we can!**

 **Odd: Bye! Don't forget to pet your dog 20 times per day!**


End file.
